Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN L* z . THE BIBLE IN SPAIN ; OR, THE JOURNEYS, ADVENTURES, AND IMPRISONMENTS OF AN ENGLISHMAN, AN ATTEMPT TO CIRCULATE THE SCRIPTURES BY GEORGE BORROW, AUTHOR OF "THE GIPSIES OF SPAIN." TWELFTH EDITION. JAMES M. CAMPBELL, 98 CHESTNUT STREET, SAXTON & MILES, 205 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO. 1845. Stack Annex , Ml CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page Man Overboard The Tagus Foreign Languages Gesticulation Streets of Lisbon The Aqueduct Bible tolerated in Portugal Cintra Don Sebastian John de Cas- tro Conversation with a Priest Colhares Mafra Its Palace The Schoolmaster The Portuguese Their Ignorance of Scripture Rural Priesthood The Alemtejo. . . 13 CHAPTER II. Boatmen of the Tagus Dangers of the Stream Aldea Gallega The Hostelry Rob- bers Sabocha Adventure of a Muleteer Estalagem de Ladroes Don Geronimo Vendas Novas Royal Residence Swine of the Alemtejo Monte Moro Swayne Vonved Singular Goatherd Children of the Fields Infidels and Sadducees 17 CHAPTER III. Shopkeeper at Evora Spanish Contrabandistas Lion and Unicorn The Fountain Trust in the Almighty Distribution of Tracts Library at Evora Manuscript The Bible as a Guide The Infamous Mary The Man of Palmella The Charm The Monkish System Sunday Volney An Auto-da-fe Men from Spain Reading of a Tract New Arrival The Herb Rosemary 21 CHAPTER IV. Vexatious Delays Drunken Driver The Murdered Mule The Lamentation Adven- ture on the Heath Fear of Darkness Portuguese Fidalgo The Escort Return to Lisbon 25 CHAPTER V. The College The Rector Shibboleth National Prejudices Youthful Sports Jews of Lisbon Bad Faith Crime and Superstition Strange Proposal 29 CHAPTER VI. Cold of Portugal Extortion prevented Sensation of Loneliness The Dog The Con- vent Enchanting Landscape Moorish Fortresses Prayer for the Sick 32 CHAPTER VII. The Druids' Stone The Young Spaniard Ruffianly Soldiers Evils of War Estre- moz The Brawl Ruined Watch-Tower Glimpse of Spain Old Times and New 35 CHAPTER VIII. Elvas Extraordinary Longevity The English Nation Portuguese Ingratitude Illi- berality Fortifications Spanish Beggar Badajoz The Custom House 38 CHAPTER IX. Badajoz Antonio the Gipsy Antonio's Proposal The Proposal accepted Gipsy Breakfast Departure from Badajoz The Gipsy Donkey Merida The Ruined Wall The Crone The Land of the Moor The Black Men Life in the Desert The Supper 41 3 ^ ~ * 4 CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. rage The Gipsy's Grand-daughter Proposed Marriage The Alguazil The Assault Speedy Trot Arrival at Trujillo Night and Rain The Forest The Bivouac Mount and away ! Jaraicejo The National The Cavalier Balmerson Among the Thickets- Serious Discourse What is Truth 1 Unexpected Intelligence 46 CHAPTER XL The Pass of Mirabete Wolves and Shepherds Female Subtlety Death by Wolves The Mystery solved The Mountains The Dark Hour The Traveller of the Night Abarbenel Hoarded Treasure Force of Gold The Archbishop Arrival at Madrid 53 CHAPTER XII. Lodging at Madrid My Hostess British Ambassador Mendizabal Baltazar Duties of a National Young Blood The Execution Population of Madrid The Higher Orders The Lower Classes The Bull Fighter The Crabbed Gitino 58 CHAPTER XIII. Intrigues at Court Quesada and Galiano Dissolution of the Cortes The Secretary Arragonese Pertinacity The Council of Trent The Asturian The Three Thieves Benedict Mol The Men of Lucerne The Treasure 62 CHAPTER XIV. State of Spain Istnritz Revolution of the Granja The Disturbance Signs of Mis- chief Newspaper Reporters Queseda's Onslaught The Closing Scene. Flight of the Moderados The Coflee Bowl 66 CHAPTER XV. The Steamer Cape Finisterre The Storm Arrival at Cadiz The New Testament Seville Italica The Amphitheatre The Prisoners The Encounter Baron Taylor The Street and Desert 70 CHAPTER XVI. Departure for Cordova Carmona German Colonies Language The Sluggish Horse Nocturnal Welcome Carlist Landlord Good Advice Gomez The Old Genoese The Two Opinions 74 CHAPTER XVII. Cordova Moors of Barbary The English An Old Priest The Roman Breviary The Dovecote The Holy Office Judaism Desecration of Dovecotes The Innkeeper's Proposal 78 CHAPTER XVHI. Departure from Cordova The Contrabandista Jewish Cunning Arrival at Madrid. . . 82 CHAPTER XIX. Arrival at Madrid Maria Diaz Printing of the Testament My Project Andalusian Steed Servant wanted An Application Antonio Buchini General Cordova Principles of Honour 84 CHAPTER XX. Illness Nocturnal Visit A Master Mind The Whisper Salamanca Irish Hospita- lity Spanish Soldiers The Scriptures advertised 88 CHAPTER XXI. Departure from Salamanca Reception at Pitiegua The Dilemma Sudden Inspiration The Good Presbyter Combat of Quadrupeds Irish Christians Plains of Spain The Catalans The Fatal Pool Valladolid Circulation of the Scripture Philippine Missions English College A Conversation The Gaoleress 91 CONTENTS. 5 CHAPTER XXn. Page Duenas Children of Egypt Jockeyism The Baggage Pony The Fall Palencia Carlist Priests The Look-out Priestly Sincerity Leon Antonio alarmed Heat and Dust 97 CHAPTER XXIII. Astorga The Inn The Maragatos Habits of the Maragatos The Statue 101 CHAPTER XXIV. Departure from Astorga The Venta The By-path Narrow Escape The Cup of Water Sun and Shade Bembibre Convent of the Rocks Sunset Cacabelos Midnight Adventure Villafranca 103 CHAPTER XXV. Villafranca The Pass Gallegan Simplicity The Frontier Guard The Horse-shoe Gallegan Peculiarities A Word on Language The Courier Wretched Cabins Host and Guests Andalusians 107 CHAPTER XXVI. Lugo The Baths A Family History Miguelets The Three Heads A Farrier English Squadron Sale of Testaments Coruna The Recognition Luigi Piozzi The Speculation A Blank Prospect John Moore Ill CHAPTER XXVH. Compostella Rey Romero The Treasure-seeker Hopeful Project The Church of Refuge Hidden Riches The Canon Spirit of Localism The Leper Bones of St. James 116 CHAPTER XXVni. Skippers of Padron Caldos de los Reyes Pontevedra The Notary Public In- sane Barber An Introduction Gallegan Language Afternoon Ride Vigo The Stranger Jews of the Desert Bay of Vigo Sudden Interruption The Governor. . . 121 CHAPTER XXIX. Arrival at Padron Projected Enterprise The Alquilador Breach of Promise An Odd Companion A Plain Story Rugged Paths The Desertion The Pony A Dialogue Unpleasant Situation The Estadea Benighted The Hut The Travel- ler's Pillow 126 CHAPTER XXX. Autumnal Morning The World's End Corcuvion Duyo The Cape A Whale The Outer Bay The Arrest The Fisher-Magistrate Calros Rey Hard of Belief Where is your Passport? The Beach A mighty Liberal The Handmaid The Grand Baintham Eccentric Book Hospitality 131 CHAPTER XXXI. CorurTa Crossing the Bay Ferrol The Dock-Yard Where are we now? Greek Ambassador Lantern-Light The Ravine Viveiro Evening Marsh and Quag- mire Fair Words and Fair Money The Leathern Girth Eyes of Lynx The Knavish Guide 137 CHAPTER XXXII. Martin of Rivadeo The Factious Mare Asturians Luarca The Seven Bellotas Hermits The Asturian's Tale Strange Guests The Big Servant Batuschca Ml CHAPTER XXXIII. Oviedo The Ten Gentlemen The Swiss again Modest Request The Robbers Episcopal Benevolence The Cathedral Portrait of Feijoo 145 A 2 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV. Page Departure from Oviedo Villa Viciosa The Young Man of the Inn Antonio's Tale The General and his Family Woful Tidings To-morrow we die San Vincente Santander An Harangue Flinter the Irishman 148 CHAPTER XXXV. Departure from Santander The Night Alarm The Black Pass 152 CHAPTER XXXVI. State of Affairs at Madrid The New Ministry Pope of Rome The Bookseller of Toledo Sword Blades Houses of Toledo The Forlorn Gipsy Proceedings at Ma- drid Another Servant 153 CHAPTER XXXVII. Euscarra Basque not Irish Sanscrit and Tartar Dialects A Vowel Language Po- pular Poetry The Basques Their Persons Basque Women 156 CHAPTER XXXVIII. The Prohibition Gospel persecuted Charge of Sorcery Ofalia 159 CHAPTER XXXIX. The Two Gospels The Alguazil The Warrant The Good Maria The Arrest- Sent to Prison Reflections The Reception The Prison-room Redress demanded 160 CHAPTER XL. Ofalia The Juez Carcel de la Corte Sunday in Prison Robber Dress Father and Son Characteristic Behaviour The Frenchman Prison Allowance Valley of the Shadow Pure Castilian Balseiro The Cave Robber Glory 164 CHAPTER XLI. Maria Diaz Priestly Vituperation Antonio's Visit Antonio at Service A Scene Benedict Mol Wandering in Spain The Four Evangiles 169 CHAPTER XLH. I iberation from Prison The Apology Human Nature The Greek's Return Church of Rome Light of Scripture Archbishop of Toledo An Interview Stones of Price A Resolution The Foreign Language Benedict's Farewell Treasure Hunt at Compostella Truth and Fiction 172 CHAPTER XLIII. Villa Seca Moorish House The Puchera The Rustic Council Polite Ceremonial The Flower of Spain The Bridge of Azeca The Ruined Castle Taking the Field Demand for the Word The Old Peasant The Curate and Blacksmith Cheap- ness of the Scriptures 177 CHAPTER XLIV. Aranjuez A Warning A Night Adventure A Fresh Expedition-^Segovia Abades Factious Curas Lopez in Prison Rescue of Lopez 182 CHAPTER XLV. Return to Spain Seville A Hoary Persecutor Manchegan Prophetess Antonio's Dream 185 CHAPTER XVLI. Work of Distribution resumed Adventure at Cobenna Power of the Clergy Rural \uthorities Fuente la Higuera Victoriano's Mishap Village Prison The Rope Antonio's Errand Antonio at Mass 187 CONTENTS. 7 CHAPTER XLVII. Page Termination of our Rural Labours Alarm of the Clergy A New Experiment Suc- cess at Madrid Goblin-Alguazil Staff of Office The Corregidor An Explanation The Pope in England New Testament expounded Works of Luther 191 CHAPTER XL VIII. Projected Journey A Scene of Blood The Friar Seville Beauties of Seville Orange Trees and Flowers Murillo The Guardian Angel Dionysius My Coad- jutors Demand for the Bible 194 CHAPTER XLIX. The Solitary House The Dehesa Johannes Chrysostom Manuel Bookselling at Se- ville Dionysius and the Priests Athens and Rome Proselytism Seizure of Testa- ments Departure from Seville 198 CHAPTER L. Night on the Guadalquiver Gospel Light Bonanza Strand of San Lucar Andalu- sian Scenery History of a Chest Cosas de los Ingleses The Two Gipsies The Driver The Red Nightcap The Steamboat Christian Language 201 CHAPTER LI. Cadiz The Fortifications The Consul-General Characteristic Anecdote Catalan Steamer Trafalgar Alonzo Guzman Gibil Musa Orestes Frigate The Hostile Lion Works of the Creator Lizard of the Rock The Concourse Queen of the Waters Broken Prayer 206 CHAPTER LII. The Jolly Hostler Aspirants for Glory A Portrait Hamilos Solomons An Expe- dition The Yeoman Soldier The Excavations The Pull by the Skirt Judah and his Father Judah's Pilgrimage The Bushy Beard The False Moors Judah and the King's Son Premature old Age 211 CHAPTER LIII. Genoese Mariners St. Michael's Cave Midnight Abysses Young American A Slave Proprietor The Fairy Man Infidelity 217 CHAPTER LIV. Again on Board The Strange Visage The Hadji Setting Sail The Two Jews American Vessel Tangier Aduii Oulem The Struggle The Forbidden Thing. . . . 219 CHAPTER LV. The Mole The Two Moors Djmah of Tangier House of God British Consul Curious Spectacle The Moorish House Joanna Correa Ave Maria 223 CHAPTER LVI. The Mahasni Sin Samani The Bazaar Moorish Saints See the Ayana! The Prickly Fig Jewish Graves The Place of Carcases The Stable Boy Horses of the Moslem Dar Dwag 226 CHAPTER LVII. Strange Trio The Mulatto The Peace-offering Moors of Granada Vive la Guade- loupe The Moors Pascual Fava Blind Algerine The Retreat 229 PREFACE. IT is very seldom that the preface of a work is read ; indeed, of late years, most books have been sent into the world without any. I deem it, however, advisable to write a preface, and to this I humbly call the at- tention of the courteous reader, as its perusal will not a little tend to the proper understand- ing and appreciation of these volumes. The work now offered to the public, and which is styled "THE BIBLE IN SPAIN," con- sists of a narrative of what occurred to me during a residence in that country, to which I was sent by the Bible Society, as its agent, for the purpose of printing and circulating the Scriptures. It comprehends, however, cer- tain journeys and adventures in Portugal, and leaves me at last in "the land of the Corahai," to which region, after having un- dergone considerable buffeting in Spain, I found it expedient to retire for a season. It is very probable that, had I visited Spain from mere curiosity, or with a view of pass- ing a year or two agreeably, I should never have attempted to give any detailed account of my proceedings, or of what I heard and saw. I am no tourist, no writer of books of travels ; but I went there on a somewhat remarkable errand, which necessarily led me into strange situations and positions, involved me in difficulties and perplexities, and brought me into contact with people of all descriptions and grades; so that, upon the whole, I flatter myself that a narrative of such a pilgrimage may not be wholly uninteresting to the pub- lic, more especially as the subject is not trite; for though various books have been published about Spain, I believe that the pre- sent is the only one in existence which treats of missionary labour in that country. Many things, it is true, will be found in the following volumes which have little connection with religion or religious enter- prise; I offer, however, no apology for intro- ducing them. I was, as I may say, from first to last adrift in Spain, the land of old re- nown, the land of wonder and mystery, with better opportunities of becoming acquainted with its strange secrets and peculiarities than 2 perhaps ever yet were afforded to any indivi- dual, certainly to a foreigner; and if in many instances I have introduced scenes and cha- racters perhaps unprecedented in a work of this description, I have only to observe, that, during my sojourn in Spain, I was so un- avoidably mixed up with such, that I could scarcely have given a faithful narrative of what befell me had I not brought them for- ward in the manner which I have done. It is worthy of remark that, called suddenly and unexpectedly "to undertake the adven- ture of Spain," I was not altogether unpre- pared for such an enterprise. In the day- dreams of my boyhood, Spain always bore a considerable share, and I took a particular interest in her, without any presentiment that I should at a future time be called upon to take a part, however humble, in her strange dramas; which interest, at a very early pe- riod, led me to acquire her noble language, and to make myself acquainted with her lite- rature, (scarcely worthy of the language,) her history, and traditions-; so that when I en- tered Spain for the first time, I felt more at home than I should otherwise have done. In Spain I passed five years, which, if not the most eventful, were, I have no hesitation in saying, the most happy years of my exist- ence. Of Spain, at the present time, now that the day-dream has vanished, never, alas ! to return, I entertain the warmest admiration: she is the most magnificent country in the world, probably the most fertile, and certainly with the finest climate. Whether her children are worthy of their mother, is another ques- tion, which I shall not attempt to answer ; but content myself with observing, that, amongst much that is lamentable and repre- hensible, I have found much that is noble and to be admired ; much stern, heroic vir- tue ; much savage and horrible crime ; of low, vulgar vice very little, at least amongst the great body of the Spanish nation, with which my mission lay ; for it will be as well here to observe, that I advance no claim to an in- timate acquaintance with the Spanish nobi- lity, from whom I kept as remote as circum- 9 10 PREFACE. stances would permit me ; en revanche, how- ever, I have had the honour to live on fami- liar terms with the peasants, shepherds, and muleteers of Spain, whose bread and bacalao I have eaten; who always treated me with kindness and courtesy, and to whom 1 have not unfrequently been indebted for shelter and protection. " The generous bearing of Francisco Gon- zales, and the high deeds of Ruy Bias the Cid, are still sung amongst the fast- nesses of the Sierra Morena."* I believe that no stronger argument can be brought forward in proof of the natural vigour and resources of Spain, and the sterling cna- racter of her population, than the fact that, at the present day, she is still a powerful and unexhausted country, and her children still, to a certain extent, a high-minded and great people. Yes, notwithstanding the misrule of the brutal and sensual Austrian, the doting Bourbon, and, above all, the spiritual tyranny of the court of Rome, Spain can still main- tain her own, fight her own combat, and Spaniards are not yet fanatic slaves and crouching beggars. This is saying much, very much ; she has undergone far more than Naples had ever to bear, and yet the fate of Naples has not been hers. There is still valour in Asturia; generosity in Arragon; probity in Old Castile ; and the peasant wo- men of La Mancha can still afford to place a silver fork and a snowy napkin beside the plate of their guest. Yes, in spite of Aus- trian, Bourbon, and Rome, there is still a wide gulf between Spain and Naples. Strange as it may sound, Spain is not a fanatic country. I know something about her, and declare that she is not, nor has ever been : Spain never changes. It is true that, for nearly two centuries, she was the she- butcher, La Verduga, of malignant Rome ; the chosen instrument for carrying into effect the atrocious projects of that power; yet fanaticism was not the spring which im- pelled her to the work of butchery ; another feeling, in her the predominant one, was worked upon her fatal pride. It was by humouring her pride that she was induced to waste her precious blood and treasure in the Low Country wars, to launch the Armada, and to many other equally insane actions. Love of Rome had ever slight influence over her policy ; but flattered by the title of Gon- faloniera of the Vicar of Jesus, and eager to prove herself not unworthy of the same, she shut her eyes and rushed upon her own de- struction with the cry of "Charge, Spain!" * "Om Frands Gonzales, og Rodrik Cid, End siunges i Sierra Murene !" Kronike Riim. By Severin Grundtvig. Co- penhagen, 1829. But the arms of Spain became powerless abroad, and she retired within herself. She ceased to be the tool of the vengeance and cruelty of Rome. She was not cast aside, however. No ! though she could no longer wield the sword with success against the Lutherans, she might still be turned to some account. She had still gold and silver, and she was still the land of the vine and olive. Ceasing to be the butcher, she bec?.me the banker of Rome; and the poor Spaniards, who always esteem it a privilege to pay an- other person's reckoning, were for a long time happy in being permitted to minister to the grasping cupidity of Rome, who, during the last century, probably extracted from Spain more treasure than from all the rest of Christendom. But wars came into the land. Napoleon and his fierce Franks invaded Spain ; plun- der and devastation ensued, the effects of which will probably be felt for ages. Spam could no longer pay pence to Peter so freely as of yore, and from that period she became contemptible in the eyes of Rome, who has no respect for a nation, save so far as it can minister to her cruelty or avarice. The Spaniard was still willing to pay, as far as his means would allow ; but he was soon given to understand that he was a degraded being, a barbarian; nay, a beggar. Now, you may draw the last cuarto from a Spaniard provided you will concede to him the title of cavalier and rich man, for the old leaven still works as powerfully as in the time of the first Philip ; but you must never hint that he is poor, or that his blood is inferior to your own. And the old peasant, on being informed in what slight estimation he was held, replied, " If I am a beast, a barbarian, and a beggar withal, I am sorry for it; but as there is no remedy, I shall spend these four bushels of barley, which I had reserved to alleviate the misery of the holy father, in procuring bull spectacles, and other convenient diversions, for the queen my wife, and the young princes my children. Beggar! carajo! The water of my village is better than the wine of Rome." I see that in a late pastoral letter directed to the Spaniards, the father of Rome com- plains bitterly of the treatment which he has received in Spain at the hands of naughty men. "My cathedrals are let down," he says, "my priests are insulted, and the reve- nues of my bishops are curtailed." He con- soles himself, however, with the idea that this is the effect of the malice of a few, and that the generality of the nation love him, especially the peasantry, the innocent pea- santry, who shed tears when they think of PREFACE. 11 the sufferings of their pope and their reli- gion. Undeceive yourself, Batuschca, unde- ceive yourself! Spain was ready to fight for you so long as she could increase her own glory by doing so; but she took no pleasure in losing battle after battle on your account. She had no objection to pay money into your coffers in the shape of alms, expecting, how- ever, that the same would be received with the gratitude and humility which become those who accept charity. Finding, how- ever, that you were neither humble nor grate- ful ; suspecting, moreover, that you held Aus- tria in higher esteem than herself, even as a banker, she shrugged up her shoulders, and uttered a sentence somewhat similar to that which I have already put into the mouth of one of her children, " These four bushels of barley," &c. It is truly surprising what little interest the great body of the Spanish nation took in the late struggle, and yet it has been called, by some who ought to know better, a war of re- ligion and principle. It was generally sup- posed that Biscay was the stronghold of Carlism, and that the inhabitants were fana- tically attached to their religion, which they apprehended was in danger. The truth is, that the Basques cared nothing for Carlos or Rome, but merely took up arms to defend certain rights and privileges of their own. For the dwarfish brother of Ferdinand they always exhibited supreme contempt, which his character, a compound of imbecility, cow- ardice, and cruelty, well merited. If they made use of his name, it was merely as a cri de guerre. Much the same may be said with respect to his Spanish partisans, at least those who appeared in the field for him. These, however, were of a widely different character from the Basques, who were brave soldiers and honest men. The Spanish ar- mies of Don Carlos were composed entirely of thieves and assassins, chiefly Valencians and Manchegans, who, marshalled under two cut-throats, Cabrera and Palillos, took advan- tage of the distracted state of the country to plunder and massacre the honest part of the community. With respect to the Queen Regent Christina, of whom the less said the better, the reins of government fell into her hands on the decease of her husband, and with them the command of the soldiery. The re- spectable part of the Spanish nation, and more especially the honourable and toilworn peasantry, loathed and execrated both fac- tions. Oft when I was sharing at nightfall the frugal fare of the villager of Old or New Castile, on hearing the distant shot of the Christino soldier or Carlist bandit, he would invoke curses on the heads of the two pre- tenders, not forgetting the holy father, and the goddess of Rome, Maria Santissima. Then, with the tiger energy of the Spaniard when roused, he would start up and exclaim: " Vamos, Don Jorge, to the plain, to the plain! I wish to enlist with you, and to learn the law of the English. To the plain, therefore, to the plain to-morrow, to circulate the gospel of Ingalaterra." Amongst the peasantry of Spaing found my sturdiest supporters; and yet the holy father supposes that the Spanish labourers are friends and lovers of his. Undeceive yourself, Batuschca! But to return to the present work: it is de- voted to an account of what befell me in Spain whilst engaged in distributing the Scripture. With respect to my poor labours, I wish here to observe, that I accomplished but very little, and that I lay claim to no brilliant successes and triumphs; indeed, I was sent into Spain more to explore the country, and to ascertain how far the minds of the people were prepared to receive the truths of Christianity, than for any other ob- ject; I obtained, however, through the assist- ance of kind friends, permission from the Spanish government to print an edition of the sacred volume at Madrid, which I subse- quently circulated in that capital and in the provinces. During my sojourn in Spain, there were others who wrought good service in the gos- pel cause, and of whose efforts it were un- just to be silent in a work of this description. Base is the heart which would refuse merit its meed, and, however insignificant may be the value of any eulogium which can flow from a pen like mine, I cannot refrain from mentioning with respect and esteem a few names connected with gospel enterprise. A zealous Irish gentleman, of the name of Graydon, exerted himself with indefatigable diligence in diffusing the light of Scripture in the province of Catalonia, and along the southern shores of Spain; whilst two mis- sionaries from Gibraltar, Messrs. Rule and Lyon, during one entire year, preached evan- gelic truth in a church at Cadiz. So much success attended the efforts of these two last brave disciples of the immortal Wesley, that there is every reason for supposing that, had they not been silenced and eventually ba- nished from the country by the pseudo-liberal faction of the Moderados, not only Cadiz, but the greater part of Andalusia, would by this time have confessed the pure doctrines of the gospel, and have discarded forever the last relics of popish superstition. More immediately connected with the Bible Society and myself, I am most happy to take 12 PREFACE. this opportunity of speaking of Luis de Usoz y Rio, the scion of an ancient and honourable family of Old Castile, my coadjutor whilst editing- the Spanish New Testament at Ma- drid. Throughout my residence in Spain, I experienced every mark of friendship from this gentleman, who, during the periods of my absence in the provinces, and my nume- rous and long journeys, cheerfully supplied my place at Madrid, and exerted himself to the utmost in forwarding the views of the Bible Society, influenced by no other motive than a hope that its efforts would eventually contribute to the peace, happiness, and civi- lization of his native knd.* In conclusion, I beg leave to state that I am fully aware of the various faults and in- * In my account of the Spanish Gipsies, having to speak of Carlos the Third, I was indebted to Luis de Usoz for some curious facts, probably only known to himself, relative to that monarch. (See Zincali, p. 209-10.) Also for some interest- ing notices of the communeros, of which I availed myself when speaking of Maria Padilla. (Zincali, pp. 95-102.) Perhaps no person living is more competent to elucidate obscure portions of Spa- nish history than this gentleman. accuracies of the present work. It is found- ed on certain journals which I kept during my stay in Spain, and numerous letters writ- ten to my friends in England, which they had subsequently the kindness to restore: the greater part, however, consisting of de- scriptions of scenery, sketches of character, &c., has been supplied from memory. In various instances I have omitted the names of places, which I have either forgotten, or of whose orthography I am uncertain. The work, as it at present exists, was written in a solitary hamlet in a remote part of England, where I had neither books to consult nor friends of whose opinion or advice I could occasionally avail myself, and under all the disadvantages which arise from enfeebled health ; I have, however, on a recent occa- sion, experienced too much of the lenity and generosity of the public, both of Britain and America, to shrink from again exposing my- self to its gaze, and trust that, if in the pre- sent volume it find but little to admire, it will give me credit for good spirit, and for setting down naught in malice. November 26, 1842. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. CHAPTER I. Man overboard The Tagus Foreign Languages Gesticulation Streets of Lisbon The Aque- duct Bible tolerated in Portugal Cintra Don Sebastian John De Castro Conversation with a Priest Colhares Mafra Its Palace The Schoolmaster The Portuguese Their Ignorance of Scripture Rural Priesthood 'The Alemtejo. ON the morning of the I Oth of November, 1835, I found myself off the coast of Galicia, whose lofty mountains, gilded by the rising sun, presented a magnificent appearance. I was bound for Lisbon ; we passed Cape Fin- isterre, and standing farther out to sea, speed- ily lost sight of land. On the morning of the llth the sea was very rough, and a remarka- ble circumstance occurred. I was on the forecastle, discoursing with two of the sailors : one of them, who had but just left his ham- mock, said, " I have had a strange dream, which I do not much like, for," continued he, pointing up to the mast, "I dreamt that I fell into the sea from the cross-trees." He was heard to say this by several of the crew be- sides myself. A moment after, the captain of the vessel perceiving that the squall was increasing, ordered the topsails to be taken in, whereupon this man with several others in- stantly ran aloft; the yard was in the act of being hauled down, when a sudden gust of wind whirled it round with violence, and a man was struck down from the cross-trees into the sea, which was working like yeast below. In a few moments he emerged ; 1 saw his head on the crest of a billow, and instantly recognised in the unfortunate man the sailor who a few moments before had related his dream. I shall never forget the look of agony he cast whilst the steamer hurried past him. The alarm was given, and every thing was in confusion ; it was two minutes at least before the vessel was stopped, by which time the man was a considerable way astern; I still, however, kept my eye upon him, and could see that he was struggling gallantly with the waves. A boat was at length lowered, but the rudder was unfortunately not at hand, and only two oars could be procured, with which the men could make but little progress in so rough a sea. They did their best, however, and had arrived within ten yards of the man, who still struggled for his life, when I lost sight of him, and the men on their return said that they saw him below the water, at glimp- ses, sinking deeper and deeper, his arms stretched out and his body apparently stiff, but that they found it impossible to save him; presently after, the sea, as if satisfied with the prey which it had acquired, became compara- tively calm. The poor fellow who perished in this singular manner was a fine young man of twenty-seven, the only son of a widowed mother; he was the best sailor on board, and was beloved by all who were acquainted with him. This event occurred on the llth of November, 1835; the vessel was the London Merchant steam ship. Truly wonderful are the ways of Providence ! That same night we entered the Tagus, and dropped anchor before the old tower of Belem ; early the next morning we weighed, and, pro- ceeding onward about a league, we again an- chored at a short distance from the Casidrea, or principal quay of Lisbon. Here we lay for some hours beside the enormous black hulk of the Reyna Nao, a man-of-war, which in old times so captivated the eye of Nelson, that he would fain have procured it for his native country. She was, long subsequently, the admiral's ship of the Miguelite squadron, and had been captured by the gallant Napier about three years previous to the time of which I am speaking. The Reyna Nao is said to have caused him more trouble than all the other vessels of the enemy : and some assert that, had the others defended themselves with half the fury which the old vixen queen displayed, the result of the battle which decided the fate of Portugal would have been widely different. I found disembarkation at Lisbon to be a matter of considerable vexation ; the custom- house officers were exceedingly uncivil, and examined every article of my little baggage with most provoking minuteness. My first impression on landing in the Pe- ninsula was by no means a favourable one; and 1 had scarcely pressed the soil one hour before I heartily wished myself back in Rus- sia, a country which I had quitted about one month previous, and where I had left cherish- ed friends and warm affections. After having submitted to much ill usage and robbery at the custom-house, I proceeded in quest of a lodging, and at last found one, I but dirty and expensive. The next day I hired a servant, a Portuguese; it being my I invariable custom, on arriving in a country, B 13 14 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. to avail myself of the services of a native, chiefly with the view of perfecting myself in the language; and being already acquainted with most of the principal languages and dia- lects of the east and the west, I am soon able to make myself quite intelligible to the inha- bitants. In about a fortnight I found myself conversing in Portuguese with considerable fluency. Those who wish to make themselves under- stood by a foreigner in his own language, should speak with much noise and vocifera- tion, opening their mouths wide. Is it sur- prising that the English are, in general, the worst linguists in the world, seeing that they pursue a system diametrically opposite? For example, when they attempt to speak Spanish, the most sonorous tongue in existence, they scarcely open their lips, and, putting their hands in their pockets, fumble lazily, instead of applying them to the indispensable office of gesticulation. Well may the poor Spaniards exclaim, Extos Inglesitos hdblan tan cerrada- menfe que el mismo Demonio no es capaz de entenderlos. Lisbon is a huge ruinous city, still exhibit- ing, in almost every direction, the vestiges of that terrific visitation of God, the earthquake, which shattered it some eighty years ago. It stands on seven hills, the loftiest of which is occupied by the castle of Saint George, which is the boldest and most prominent object to the eye, whilst surveying the city from the Tagus. The most frequented and busy parts of the city are those comprised within the val- ley to the north of this elevation. Here you find the Plaza of the Inquisition, the principal square in Lisbon, from which run parallel towards the river three or four streets, amongst which are those of the Gold and Silver, so designated from being inhabit- ed by smiths cunning in the working of those metals : they are, upon the whole, very mag- nificent; the houses are huge, and as high as castles; immense pillars defend the causeway at intervals, producing, however, rather a cumbrous effect. These streets are quite level, and are well paved, in which respect they differ from all the others in Lisbon. The most singular street, however, of all, is that of the Alemcrin, or Rosemary, which debouch- es on the Casidrea. It is very precipitous, and is occupied on either side by the palaces of the principal Portuguese nobility, massive and frowning, but grand and picturesque edi- fices, with here and there a hanging garden, overlooking the street at a great height. With all its ruin and desolation, Lisbon is unquestionably the most remarkable city in the Peninsula, and, perhaps, in the south of Europe. It is not my intention to enter into minute details concerning it; I shall content myself with remarking, that it is quite as much deserving the attention of the artist as even Rome itself. True it is, that though it abounds with churches, it has no gigantic ca- thedral, like St. Peter's to attract the eye and fill it with wonder ; yet I boldly say that there is no monument of man's labour and skill, pertaining either to ancient or modern Rome, for whatever purpose designed, which can rival the water-works of Lisbon: I mean the stupendous aqueduct whose principal arches cross the valley to the north-east of Lisbon, and which discharges its little runnel of cool and delicious water into the rocky cistern within that beautiful edifice called the Mother of the Waters, from whence all Lisbon is supplied with the crystal lymph, though the source is seven leagues distant. Let travellers devote one entire morning to inspecting the Arcos and the Mai das agoas, after which they may repair to the English church and ceme- tery, Pere-la-chaise in miniature, where, if they be of England, they may well be excused if they kiss the cold tomb, as 1 did, of the author of " Amelia," the most singular genius which their island ever produced, whose works it has long been the fashion to abuse in public and to read in secret. In the same cemetery rest the mortal remains of Doddridge, another English author of a different stamp, but justly admired and esteemed. I had not intended, on disembarking, to re- main long in Lisbon, nor, indeed, in Portugal ; my destination was Spain, whither I shortly proposed to direct my steps, it being the inten- tion of the Bible Society to attempt to com- mence operations in that country, the object of which should be the distribution of the word of God ; for Spain had hitherto been a region barred against the admission of the Bible; not so Portugal, where, since the revolution, the Bible had been permitted both to be intro- duced and circulated. Little, however, had been accomplished; therefore, finding myself in the country, I determined, if possible, to effect something in the way of distribution, but, first of all, to make myself acquainted as to how far the people were disposed to receive the Bible, and whether the state of education in general would permit them to turn it to much account. I had plenty of Bibles and Testaments at my disposal, but could the peo- ple read them, or would they ? A friend of the Society to whom I was recommended was absent from Lisbon at the period of my arrival ; this I regretted, as he could have afforded me several useful hints. In order, however, that no time might be lost, I determined not to wait for his arrival, but at once proceed to gather the best information I could upon those points to which I have already alluded. I determined to commence my researches at some slight distance from Lisbon, being well aware of the erroneous ideas that I must form of the Portu- guese in general, should I judge of their cha- racter and opinions from what 1 saw and heard in a city so much subjected to foreign inter- course. My first excursion was to Cintra. If there be any place in the world entitled to the ap- pellation of an enchanted region, it is surely Cintra; Tivoli is a beautiful and picturesque place, but it quickly fades from the mind of those who have seen the Portuguese Paradise. When speaking of Cintra, it must not for a moment be supposed that nothing more is THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 15 meant than the little town or city; by Cintra alphabet, but that even this was at present closed he informed me, however, that there was a school at Colhares, about a league must be understood the entire region, town, palace, quintas, forests, crags, Moorish ruin, which suddenly burst on the view on round- : distant. Amongst other things, he said that ing the side of a bleak, savage, and sterile- ! nothing more surprised him than to see Eng- looking mountain. Nothing is more sullen lishmen, the most learned and intelligent and uninviting than the south-western aspect j people in the world, visiting a place like of the stony wall which, on the side of Lis- I Cintra, where there was no literature, science, bon, seems to shield Cintra from the eye of the world, but the other side is a mingled scene of fairy beauty, artificial elegance, sa- vage grandeur, domes, turrets, enormous trees, flowers, and waterfalls, such as is met with nowhere else beneath the sun. Oh ! there are sttange and wonderful objects at Cintra, and strange and wonderful recollections attached to tiiem ; the ruin on that lofty peak, and which covers part of the side of that precipi- tous steep, was once the principal stronghold of the Lusitanian Moors, and thither, long after they had disappeared, at a particular moon of every year, were wont to repair wild santons of Maugrabie, to pray at the tomb of a famous Sidi, who slumbers amongst the rocks. That gray palace witnessed the as- semblage of the last cortes held by the boy king Sebastian, ere he departed on his roman- tic expedition against the Moors, who so well avenged their insulted faith and country at Alcazarquibir; and in that low shady quinta, embowered amongst those tall alcornoques, viceroy of Goa, who pawned the hairs of his dead son's beard to raise money to repair the ruined wall of a fortress threatened by the heathen of Ind ; those crumbling stones which stand before the portal, deeply graven, not with " runes," but things equally dark, San- scrit rhymes from the Vedas, were brought by him from Goa, the most brilliant scene of his glory, before Portugal had become a base kingdom ; and down that dingle, on an abrupt rocky promontory, stand the ruined halls of the English Millionaire, who there nursed the wayward fancies of a mind as wild, rich, and variegated as the scenes around. Yes, won- derful are the objects which meet the eye at Cintra, and wonderful are the recollections attached to them. The town of Cintra contains about eight hundred inhabitants. The morning subse- quent to my arrival, as I was about to ascend the mountain for the purpose of examining the Moorish ruins, I observed a person ad- vancing towards me whom I judged by his dress to be an ecclesiastic ; he was in fact one of the three priests of the place. I instantly accosted him, and had no reason to regret do- ing so ; I found him affable and communi- cative. After praising the beauty of the surround- ing scenery, I made some inquiry as to the state of education amongst the people under his care. He answered, that he was sorry to say that they were in a state of great igno- rance, very few of the common people being able either to read or write ; that, with respect to schools, there was but one in the place, where four or five children were taught the nor any thing of utility (coisa qut presto'). I suspect that there was some covert satire in the last speech of the worthy priest; I was, how- ever, Jesuit enough to appear to receive it as a high compliment, and, taking off my hat, departed with an infinity of bows. That same day I visited Colhares, a ro- mantic village on the side of the mountain of Cintra, to the north-west. Seeing some pea- sants collected round a smithy, I inquired about the school, whereupon one of the men instantly conducted me thither. I went up- stairs into a small apartment, where I found the master with about a dozen pupils standing in a row ; I saw but one stool in the room, and to that, after having embraced me, he conducted me with great civility. After some discourse, he showed me the books which h used for the instruction of the children ; they were spelling books, much of the same kind as those used in the village schools in Eng- land. Upon my asking him whether it was his practice to place the Scriptures in the hands of the children, he informed me that long before they had acquired sufficient intel- ligence to understand them they were removed by their parents, in order that they might as- sist in the labours of the field, and that the parents in general were by no means solicitous that their children should learn any thing, as they considered the time occupied in learning as so much squandered away. He said, that though the schools were nominally supported by the government, it was rarely that the schoolmasters could obtain their salaries, on which account many had of late resigned their employments. He told me that he had a copy of the New Testament in his posses- sion, which I desired to see, but on examin- ing it I discovered that it was only the epis- tles by Pereira, with copious notes. I asked him whether he considered that there was harm in reading the Scriptures without notes; he replied that there was certainly no harm in it, but that simple people, without the help of notes, could derive but little benefit from Scripture, as the greatest part would be unin- telligible to them ; whereupon I shook hands with him, and on departing said that there was no part of Scripture so difficult to under- stand as those very notes which were intended to elucidate it, and that it would never have been written if not calculated of itself to il- liwne the minds of all classes of mankind. In a day or two I made an excursion to Ma fra, distant about three leagues from Cintra; the principal part of the way lay over steep hills, somewhat dangerous for horses; how- ever, I reached the place in safety. Mafra is a large village in the neighbour hood of an immense building, intended t 16 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. serve as a convent and palace, and which is built somewhat after the fashion of the Escu- rial. In this edifice exists the finest library in Portugal, containing books on all sciences and in all languages, and well suited to the size and grandeur of the edifice which con- tains it. There were no monks, however, to take care of it, as in former times ; they had been driven forth, some to beg their bread, some to serve under the banners of Don Car- los, in Spain, and many, as I was informed, to prowl about as banditti. I found the place abandoned to two or three menials, and exhi- biting an aspect of solitude and desolation truly appalling. Whilst I was viewing the cloisters, a fine intelligent-looking lad came up and asked (I suppose in the hope of obtaining a trifle) whether I would permit him to show me the village church, which he informed me, was well worth seeing; I said no, but added, that if he would show me the village school I should feel much obliged to him. He looked at me with astonishment, and assured me that there was nothing to be seen at the school, which did not contain more than half a dozen boys, and that he himself was one of the num- ber. On my telling him, however, that he should show me no other place, he at length un- willingly attended me. On the way I learned from him that the schoolmaster was one of the friars who had lately been expelled from the convent, that he was a very learned man, and spoke French and Greek. We passed a stone cross, and the boy bent his head and crossed himself with much devotion. I mention this circumstance as it was the first instance of the kind which I had observed amongst the Por- tuguese since my arrival. \Vhen near the house where the schoolmaster resided he Eointed it out to me, and then hid himself be- ind a wall, where he awaited my return. On stepping over the threshold I was con- fronted by a short stout man, between sixty and seventy years of age, dressed in a blue jerkin and gray trowsers, without shirt or waistcoat ; he looked at me sternly, and in- quired in the French language what was my pleasure. I apologized for intruding upon him, and stated that, being informed he occu- pied the situation of schoolmaster, 1 had come to pay my respects to him and to beg permission to ask a few questions respecting the semina- ry. He answered that whoever told me he was a schoolmaster lied, for that he was a friar of the convent and nothing else. "It is not then true," said I, " that all the convents have been broken up and the monks dismissed?" I' Yes, yes," said he with a sigh ; " it is true ; it is but too true." He then was silent for a minute, and his better nature overcoming his angry feelings, he produced a snuff-box and offered it to me. The snuff-box is the olive- branch of the Portuguese, and he who wishes to be on good terms with them must never re- fuse to dip his finger and thumb into it when offered. I took, therefore, a huge pinch, though J detest the dust, and we were soon on the best possible terms. He was eager to obtain news, especially from Lisbon and Spain. I told him that the officers of the troops at Lis- bon had, the day before I left that place, gone in a body to the queen and insisted upon her either receiving their swords or dismissing her ministers ; whereupon he rubbed his hands, and said that he was sure matters would not resiain tranquil at Lisbon. On my saying, however, that I thought the affairs of Don Carlos were on the decline, (this was shortly after the death of Zumalacarreguy.) he frown- ed, and cried that it could not possibly be, for that God was too just to suffer it. I felt for the poor man who had been driven out of his home in the noble convent close by, and from a state of affluence and comfort reduced in his old age to indigence and misery, for his pre- sent dwelling scarcely seemed to contain an article of furniture. I tried twice or thrice to induce him to converse about the school, but he either avoided the subject or said shortly that he knew nothing about it. On my leaving him, the boy came from his hiding place and rejoined me ; he said that he had hidden himself through fear of his mas- ter's knowing that he had brought me to him, for that he was unwilling that any stranger should know that he was a schoolmaster. I asked the boy whether he or his parents were acquainted with the Scripture and ever read it; he did not, however, seem to under- stand me. I must here observe that the boy was fifteen years of age, that he was in many respects very intelligent, and had some know- ledge of the Latin language, nevertheless he knew not the Scripture even by name, and I have no doubt, from what I subsequently ob- served, that at least two-thirds of his coun- trymen are on that important point no wiser than himself. At the doors of village inns, at the hearths of the rustics, in the fields where they labour, at the stone fountains by the way side where they water their cattle, I have questioned the lower class of the children of Portugal about the Scripture, the Bible, the Old and New Testament, and in no one in- stance have they known what I was alluding to, or could return me a rational answer, though on all other matters their replies were sensible enough ; indeed, nothing surprised me more than the free and unembarrassed man- ner in which the Portuguese peasantry sustain a conversation, and the purity of the language in which they express their thoughts, and yet few of them can read or write; whereas the peasantry of England, whose education is in general much superior, are in their conversa- tion coarse and dull almost to brutality, and absurdly ungrammatical in their language, though the English tongue is upon the whole more simple in its structure than the Portu- guese. On my return to Lisbon I found our friend , who received me very kindly ; the next ten days were exceedingly rainy, which pre- vented me from making any excursions into the country. During this time I saw our friend frequently, and had long conversations with him concerning the best means of distri- buting the gospel. He thought we could do THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 17 no better for the present than to put part of our stock into the hands of the booksellers of Lisbon, and at the same employ colporteurs to hawk the books about the streets, receiving a certain profit on every copy they sold. This plan was agreed upon, and forthwith put in practice with some success. I had thoughts of sending colporteurs into the neighbouring villages, but to this our friend objected. He thought the attempt dangerous, as it was very possible that the rural priesthood, who still possessed much influence in their own districts, and who were for the most part de- cided enemies to the spread of the gospel, might cause the men employed to be assassi- nated or ill-treated. I determined, however, ere leaving Portu- gal, to establish depots of Bibles in one or two of the provincial towns. I wished to visit the Alemtejo, which I had heard was a very be- nighted region. The Alemtejo means the province beyond the Tagus. This province is not beautiful and picturesque, like most ! other parts of Portugal ; there are few hills 1 and mountains, the greater part consists of i heaths broken by knolls, and gloomy dingles, j and forests of stunted pine ; these places are i infested with banditti. The principal city is ! Evora, one of the most ancient in Portugal, and formerly the seat of a branch of the In- quisition, yet more cruel and baneful than the terrible one of Lisbon. Evora lies about sixty miles from Lisbon, and to Evora I determined on going with twenty Testaments and two Bibles. How 1 fared there will presently be seen. CHAPTER II. Boatmen of the Tagus Dangers of the Stream Aldea Gallega The Hostelry Robbers Sabo- cha Adventure of'a Muleteer Estalagern de Ladroes Don Geronimo Vendas Novas Royal Residence Swine of the Alemtejo Monte Moro Swayne Vonved Singular Goatherd Chil- dren of the Fields Infidels and Sadducees. ON the afternoon of 'the Gth of December I set out for Evora, accompanied by my servant. I had been informed that the tide would serve for the regular passage-boats, or felouks, as they are called, at about four o'clock, but on reaching the side of the Tagus opposite to Aldea Gallega, between which place and Lisbon the boats ply, I found that the tide would not permit them to start before eight o'clock. Had I waited for them I should have probably landed at Aldea Gallega about midnight, and I felt little inclination to make my entree in the Alemtejo at that hour; there- fore, as I saw small boats which can push off at any time lying near in abundance, I deter- mined upon hiring one of them for the pas- sage, though the expense would be thus con- siderably increased. I soon agreed with a wild-looking lad, who told me that he was in part owner of one of the boats, to take me over. I was not aware of the danger in cross- ing the Tagus at its broadest part, which is opposite Aldea Gallega, at any time, but especially at close of day in the winter season, or 1 should certainly not have ventured. The lad and his comrade, a miserable looking ob- ject, whose only clothing, notwithstanding the season, was a tattered jerkin and trousers, rowed until we had advanced about half a mile from the land ; they then set up a large sail, and the lad, who seemed to direct every thing and to be the principal, took the helm and steered. The evening was now setting in ; the sun was not far from its bourne in the horizon, the air was very cold, the wind was rising, and the waves of the noble Tagus be- gan to be crested with foam. I told the boy that it was scarcely possible for the boat to carry so much sail without upsetting, upon 3 which he laughed, and began to gabble in a most incoherent manner. He had the most harsh and rapid articulation that has ever come under my observation in any human being ; it was the scream of the hyena blended with the bark of the terrier, though it was by no means an index of his disposition, which I soon found to be light, merry, and any thing but malevolent, for when I, in order to show him that I cared little about him, began to hum " Eu que sou Contrabatidisla" he laughed heartily and said, clapping me on the shoul- der, that he would not drown us if he could help it. The other poor fellow seemed by no means averse to go to the bottom ; he sat at the fore part of the boat looking the image of famine, and only smiled when the waters broke over the weather side and soaked his scanty habiliments. In a little time I had made up my mind that our last hour was come ; the wind was getting higher, the short dangerous waves were more foamy; the boat was fre- quently on its beam, and the water came over the lee side in torrents; but still the wild lad at the helm held on laughing and chattering, and occasionally yelling out parts of the Mi- guelite air, " Quando el Rey chegou," the singing of Which in Lisbon is imprisonment. The stream was against us, but the wind was in our favour, and we sprang along at a wonderful rate, and I saw that our only chance of escape was in speedily passing the farther bank of the Tagus where the bight or bay at the extremity of which stands Aldea Gallega commences, for we should not then have to battle with the waves of the stream, which the adverse wind lashed into fury. It was the will of the Almighty to permit us speedily to gain this shelter, but not before the boat was B 2 18 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. nearly filled with water, and we were all wet to the skin. At about seven o'clock in the evening we reached Aldea Gallega, shivering with cold and in a most deplorable plight. Aldea Gallega,or the Galician Village, (for the two words are Spanish, and have that sig- nification,) is a place containing, I should think, about four thousand inhabitants. It was pitchy dark when we landed, but rockets soon began to fly about in all directions, illuming the air far and wide. As we passed along the dirty unpaved street which leads to the Largo, or square in which the inn is situated, a hor- rible uproar of drums and voices assailed our ears. On inquiring the cause of all this bus- tle, I was informed that it was the eve of the Conception of the Virgin. As it was not the custom of the people at the inn to provide provisions for the guests, I wandered about in search of food ; and at last seeing some soldiers eating and drinking in a species of wine-house, 1 went in and asked the people to let me have some supper, and in a short time they furnished me with a tolerable meal, for which, however, they charged three crowns. Having engaged with a person for mules to carry us to Evora, which were to be ready at five next morning, I soon retired to bed, my servant sleeping in the same apartment, which was the only one in the house vacant. I closed not my eyes during the whole night. Beneath us was a stable, in which some al- mocreves, or carriers, slept with their mules ; at our back, in the yard, was a pigsty. How could I sleep 1 The hogs grunted, the mules screamed, and the almocreves snored most horribly. I heard the village clock strike the hours until midnight, and from midnight till four in the morning, when I sprang up and began to dress, and despatched my servant to hasten the man with the mules, for I was heartily tired of the place and wanted to leave it. An old man, bony and hale, accompanied by a barefooted lad, brought the beasts, which were tolerably good. He was the proprietor of them, and intended, with the lad, who was his nephew, to accompany us to Evora. When we started, the moon was shining brightly, and the morning was piercingly cold. We soon entered on a sandy hollow way, emerging from which we passed by a strange looking and large edifice, standing on a high bleak sand-hill on our left. We were speedi- ly overtaken by five or six men on horseback, riding at a rapid pace, each with a long gun slung at his saddle, the muzzle depending about two feet below the horse's belly. I in- quired of the old man what was the reason of this warlike array. He answered, that the roads were very bad, (meaning that they abounded with robbers,) and that they went armed in this manner for their defence ; they soon turned off to the right towards Palmella. We reached a sandy plain studded with stunted pine ; the road was little more than a footpath, and as we proceeded, the trees thick- ened and became a wood, which extended for two leagues, with clear spaces at intervals, in which herds of cattle and sheep were feed- ing; the bells attached to their necks were ringing lowly and monotonously. The sun was just beginning to show itself; but the morning was misty and dreary, which toge- ther with the aspect of desolation which the country exhibited, had an unfavourable effect on my spirits. I got down and walked, enter- ing into conversation with the old man. He I seemed to have but one theme, " the robbers," and the atrocities they were in the habit of practising in the very spots we were passing. The tales he told were truly horrible, and to avoid them I mounted again, and rode on con- siderably in front. In about an hour and a half we emerged from the forest, and entered upon a savage, wild, broken ground, covered with mato, or brushwood. The mules stopped to drink at a shallow pool, and on looking to the right I saw a ruined wall. This, the guide informed me, was the remains of Vendas Velhas, or the Old Inn, formerly the haunt of the celebrated robber Sabocha. This Sabocha, it seems, had, some sixteen years ago, a band of about forty ruffians at his command, who infested these wilds, and supported themselves by plunder. For a considerable time Sabocha pursued his atrocious trade unsuspected, and many an unfortunate traveller was murdered in the dead of night at -the solitary inn by the wood-side, which he kept; indeed, a more fit situation for plunder and murder I never saw. The gang were in the habit of watering their horses at the pool, and perhaps of washing therein their hands stained with the blood of their victims; the lieutenant of the troop was the brother of Sabocha, a fellow of great strength and ferocity, particularly famous for the skill he possessed in darting a long knife, with which he was in the habit of transfixing his opponents. Sabocha's connexion with the gang at length became known, and he fled, with the greater part of his associates, across the Tagus to the northern provinces. Him- self and his brothers eventually lost their lives on the road to Coimbra, in an engagement with the military. His house was razed by order of the government. The ruins are still frequently visited by ban- ditti, who eat and drink amidst them, and look out for prey, as the place commands a view of the road. The old man assured me, that about two months previous, on returning to Aldea Gallega with his mules from ac- companying some travellers, he had been knocked down, stripped naked, and all his money taken from him, by a fellow whom he believed came from this murderer's nest. He said that he was an exceedingly powerful young man, with immense mustaches and whiskers, and was armed with an espingarda, or musket. About ten days subsequently he saw the robber at Vendas Novas, where we should pass the night. The fellow on recog- nising him took him aside, and, with horrid imprecations, threatened that he should never be permitted to return home if he attempted to discover him ; he therefore held his peace, THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. as there was little to be gained and every thing to be risked in apprehending him, as he would have been speedily set at liberty for want of evidence to criminate him, and then he would not have failed to have had his revenge, or would have been anticipated therein by his comrades. I dismounted and went up to the place, and saw the vestiges of a fire and a broken bottle. The sons of plunder had been there very late- ly. I left a New Testament and some tracts amongst the ruins, and hastened away. The sun had dispelled the mists and was beaming very hot; we rode on for about an hour, when I heard the neighing of a horse in our rear, and our guide said there was a party of horsemen behind ; our mules were good, and they did not overtake us for at least twenty minutes. The, headmost rider was a gentleman in a fashionable travelling dress; a little way behind were an officer, two sol- diers, and a boy in livery. I heard the princi- pal horseman, on overtaking my servant, in- quiring who I was, and whether French or English. He was told I was an English gen- tleman, travelling. He then asked whether I understood Portuguese; the man said I un- derstood it, but he believed that I spoke French and Italian better. The gentleman then spur- red on his horse and accosted me, not in Por- tuguese, nor in French or Italian, but in the purest English that I ever heard spoken by a foreigner; it had, indeed, nothing of foreign accent or pronunciation in it; and had I not known, by the countenance of the speaker, that he was no Englishman, (for there is a pecu- liarity in the countenance, as everybody knows, which, though it cannot be described, is sure to betray the Englishman,) I should have concluded that I was in company with a countryman. We continued discoursing until we arrived at Pegoens. Pegoens consists of about two or three houses and an inn ; there is likewise a species of barrack, where half a dozen soldiers are stationed. In the whole of Portugal there is no place of worse reputation, and the inn is nicknamed Estalagem de Ladroes, or the hos- telry of thieves ; for it is there that the banditti of the wilderness, which extends around it on every side for leagues, are in the habit of coming and spending the money, the fruits of their criminal daring; there they dance and sing, eat fricasseed rabbits and olives, and drink the muddy but strong wine of the Alemtejo. An enormous fire, fed by the trunk of a cork tree, was blazing in a niche on the left hand on entering the spacious kitchen. Close by it, seething, were several large jars, which emitted no disagreeable odour, and re- minded me that I had not broken my fast, although it was now nearly one o'clock, and I had ridden five leagues. Several wild look- ing men, who if they were not banditti might easily be mistaken for such, were seated on ,ogs about the fire. I asked them some un- important questions, to which they replied with readiness and civility, and one of them, who said he could read, accepted a tract which I offered him. My new friend, who had been bespeaking dinner, or rather breakfast, now, with great civility, invited me to partake of it, and at the same time introduced me to the officer who accompanied him, and who was his brother, and also spoke English, though not so well as himself. I found I had become acquainted with Don Geronimo Joze D'Azveto, secre- tary to the government at Evora; his brother belonged to a regiment of hussars, whose head-quarters were at Evora, but which had outlying parties along the road, for example, the place where we were stopping. Rabbits at Pegoens seem to be a standard article of food, being produced in abundance on the moors around. We had one fried, the gravy of which was delicious, and afterwards a roasted one, which was brought up on a dish entire ; the hostess, having first washed her hands, proceeded to tear the animal to pieces, which having accomplished, she pour- ed over the fragments a sweet sauce. I ate heartily of both dishes, particularly of the last ; owing, perhaps, to the novel and curi- ous manner in which it was served up. Ex- cellent figs, from the Algarves, and apples concluded our repast, which we ate in a little side room with a mud floor, which sent such a piercing chill into my system, as prevented me from deriving that pleasure from my fare and my agreeable companions that I should have otherwise experienced. Don Geronimo had been educated in Eng- land, in which country he passed his boy- hood, which in a certain degree accounted for his proficiency in the English language, the idiom and pronunciation of which can only be acquired by residing in the country at that period of one's life. He had also fled thither shortly after the usurpation of the throne of Portugal by Don Miguel, and from thence had departed to the Brazils, where he had devoted himself to the service of Don Pedro, and had followed him in the expedition which termi- nated in the downfall of the usurper and the establishment of the constitutional govern- ment in Portugal. Our conversation rolled chiefly on literary and political subjects, and my acquaintance with the writings of the most celebrated authors of Portugal was hail- ed with surprise and delight; for nothing is more gratifying to a Portuguese than to ob- serve a foreigner taking an interest in the literature of his nation, of which, in many re- spects, he is justly proud. At about two o'clock we were once more in the saddle, and pursued our way in com- pany through a country exactly resembling that which we had previously been traversing, rugged and broken, with here and there a clump of pines. The afternoon was exceed- ingly fine, and the bright rays of the sun re- lieved the desolation of the scene. Having advanced about two leagues, we caught sight of a large edifice towering majestically in the distance, which I learnt was a royal palace 20 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. standing at the farther extremity of Vendas Novas, the village in which we were to pas the night; it was considerably more than a league from us, yet, seen through the clear transparent atmosphere of Portugal, it ap- peared much nearer. Before reaching it we passed by a stone cross, on the pedestal of which was an in- scription commemorating a horrible murder of a native of Lisbon, which had occurred on that spot ; it looked ancient, and was covered with moss, and the greater part of the inscrip- tion was illegible, at least it was to me, who could not bestow much time on its decipher- ing. Having arrived at Vendas Novas, and bespoken supper, my new friend and myself strolled forth to view the palace; it was built by the late king of Portugal, and presents lit- tle that is remarkable in its exterior; it is a long edifice with wings, and is only two stories high, though it can be seen afar off from being situated on elevated ground; it has fifteen windows in the upper, and twelve in the lower story, with a paltry-looking door, something like that of a barn, to which you ascend by one single step; the interior cor- responds with the exterior, offering nothing which can gratify curiosity, if we except the kitchens, which are indeed magnificent, and BO large that food enough might be cooked in them, at one time, to serve as a repast for all the inhabitants of the Alemtejo. I passed the night with great comfort in a clean bed, remote from all those noises so rife in a Portuguese inn, and the next morning at six we again set out on our journey, which we hoped to terminate before sunset, as Evora is but ten leagues from Vendas Novas. The preceding morning had been cold, but the pre- sent one was far colder, so much so, that just before sunrise I could no longer support it on horseback, and therefore dismounting, ran and walked until we reached a few houses at the termination of these desolate moors. It was in one of these houses that the commis- sioners of Don Pedro and Miguel met, and it was there agreed that the latter should resign the crown in favour of Donna Maria, for Evora was the last stronghold of the usurper, and the moors of the Alemtejo the last area of the combats which so long agitated un- happy Portugal. I therefore gazed on the miserable huts with considerable interest, and did not fail to scatter in the neighbourhood several of the precious little tracts with which, together with a small quantity of Tes- taments, my carpet bag was provided. The country began to improve; the savage heaths were left behind, and we saw hills and dales, cork trees, and azinheiras, on the last of which trees grows that kind of sweet acorn called bolotas, which is pleasant as a chest- nut, and which supplies in winter the princi- pal food on which the numerous swine of the Alemtejo subsist. Gallant swine they are, with short legs and portly bodies of a black or dark-red colour; and for the excellence of their rlesh I can vouch, having frequently luxu- riated upon it in the course of ray wanderings j in this province; the lombo, or loin, when broiled on the live embers, is delicious, espe- cially when eaten with olives. We were now in sight of Monte Moro, which, as the name denotes, was once a fort- ress of the Moors; it is a high, steep hill, on the summit and sides of which are ruined walls and towers; at its western side is a deep ravine or valley, through \*hich a small stream rushes, traversed by a stone bridge; farther down there is a ford, over which we passed and ascended to the town, which, com- mencing near the northern base, passes over the lower ridge towards the north-east. The town is exceedingly picturesque, and many of the houses are very ancient, and built in the Moorish fashion. I wished much to exa- mine the relics of Moorish sway on the upper part of the mountain, but time pressed, and the short period of our stay at this place did not permit me to gratify my inclination. Monte Moro is the head of a range of hills which cross this part of the Alemtejo, and from hence they fork east and south-east, towards the former of which directions lies the direct road to Elvas, Badajoz, and Madrid ; and towards the latter that to Evora. A beau- tiful mountain, covered to the top with cork trees, is the third of the chain, which skirts the way in the direction of Elvas. It is called Monte Almo; a brook brawls at its base, and as I passed it the sun was shining gloriously on the green herbage on which flocks of goats were feeding, with their bells ringing merrily, so that the lout ensemble resembled a fairy scene; and, that nothing might be wanted to complete the picture, I here met a man, a goatherd, beneath an azinheira, whose appear- ance recalled to my mind the Brute Carle, mentioned in the Danish ballad of Swayne Vonved : "A wild swine on his shoulders he kept, And upon his bosom a black bear slept ; And about his fingers, with hair o'erhung, The squirrel sported and weasel clung." Upon the shoulder of the goatherd was a beast, which he told me was a lontra, or otter, which he had lately caught in the neighbour- ing brook; it had a string round its neck, which was attached to his arm. At his left side was a bag, from the top of which peered the heads of two or three singular-looking animals, and at his right was squatted the sullen cub of a wolf, which he was endeavour- ing to tame; his whole appearance was to the last degree savage and wild. After a little conversation, such as those who meet on the road frequently hold, I asked him if he could read, but he made me no answer. I then in- quired if he knew any thing of God or Jesus Christ; he looked me fixedly in the face for a moment, and then turned his countenance towards the sun, which was beginning to sink n the west, nodded to it, and then again looked fixedly upon me. I believe that I un- derstood the mute reply, which probably was, that it was God who made that glorious light which illumes and gladdens all creation; and, gratified with that belief, I left him, and has- THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 21 tened after my companions, who were by this j when the heart is once steeled with infidelity, time a considerable way in advance. | infidelity confirmed by carnal wisdom, an exu- I have always found in the disposition of the children of the fields a more determined tendency to religion and piety than amongst the inhabitants of towns and cities ; and the reason is obvious, they are less acquainted with the works of man's hands than with those of God ; their occupations, too, which are simple, and requiring less of ingenuity and skill than those which engage the atten- tion of the other portion of their fellow-crea- tures, are less favourable to the engendering of self-conceit and sufficiency, so utterly at variance with that lowliness of spirit which constitutes the best foundation of piety. The sneerers and scoffers at religion do not spring from amongst the simple children of nature, hut are the excrescences of overwrought refine- ment; and though their baneful influence has indeed penetrated to the country and corrupted man there, the source and fountain-head was amongst crowded houses, where nature is scarcely known. I am not one of those who look for perfection amongst the rural popula- tion of any country ; perfection is not to be found amongst the children of the fall, wher- ever their abodes may happen to be; but, until the heart discredits the existence of a God, there is still hope for the soul of the possessor, however stained with crime he may be, for even Simon the magician was converted ; but berance of the grace of God is required to melt it, which is seldom manifested ; for we read in the blessed Book that the Pharisee and the wizard became receptacles of grace ; but where is there mention made of the conversion of the sneering Sadducee ] and is the modem infidel aught but a Sadducee of later date? It was dark night before we reached Evora ; and having taken leave of my friends, who kindly requested me to consider their house my home, I and my servant went to the Largo de San Francisco, in which the muleteer in- formed me was the best hostelry of the town. We rode into the kitchen, at the extreme end of which was the stable, as is customary in Portugal. The house was kept by an aged gipsy-like female and her daughter, a fine, blooming girl, about eighteen years of age. The house was large; in the upper story was a very long room, like a granary, which ex- tended nearly the whole length of the house; the farther part was partitioned off, and formed a chamber, tolerably comfortable, but very cold, and the floor was of tiles, as was also that of the large room in which the muleteers were accustomed to sleep on the furniture of the mules. After supper I went to bed ; and having offered up my devotions to Him who had protected me through a dangerous journey, I slept soundly till the morning. CHAPTER III. Shopkeeper at Evora Spanish Contrabandistas Lion and Unicorn The Fountain Trust in the Almighty Distribution of Tracts Library at Evora Manuscript The Bible as a Guide The infamous Mary The Man of Palmella The Charm The Monkish System Sunday Volney An Auto-da-Fe Men from Spain Reading of a Tract New Arrival The Herb Rosemary. EVORA is a small city, walled, but not regularly fortified, and could not sustain a siege of a day. It has five gates; before that to the south-west is the principal promenade of its inhabitants ; the fair on St. John's Day is likewise held there; the houses are in general very ancient, and many of them unoccupied. It contains about five thousand inhabitants, though twice that num- ber would be by no means disproportionate to its size. The two principal edifices are the See, or cathedral, and the convent of San Francisco, in the square before the latter of which was situated the posada where I had taken up my abode. A large barrack for cavalry stands on the right-hand side, on en- tering the south-west gate. To the south-east, at the distance of six leagues, is to be seen a blue chain of hills, the highest of which is called Serra Dorso; it is picturesquely beau- tiful, and contains within its recesses wolves and wild boars in numbers. About a league and a half on the other side of this hill is Estremos. I passed the day succeeding my arrival principally in examining the town and its en- virons, and as I strolled about, entered into conversation with various people that I met ; several of these were of the middle class, shopkeepers and professional men ; they were all Constitutionalists, or pretended to be so, but had very little to say except a few com- monplace remarks on the way of living of the friars, their hypocrisy and laziness. I endeavoured to obtain some information re- specting the state of instruction in the place, and from their answers was led to believe that it must be at the lowest ebb, for it se-emed that there was neither bookshop nor school. When I spoke of religion, they exhibited the utmost apathy for the subject, and making their bows left me as soon as possible. Having a letter of introduction to a person who kept a shop in the market-place, I went thither and delivered it to him as he stood behind his counter. In the course of conver- sation, I found that he had been much perse- cuted whilst the old system was in its vigour, and that he entertained a hearty aversion for it. I told him that the ignorance of the peo- 22 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. pie in religious matters had served to nurse ] that system, and that the surest way to pre- vent its return was to enlighten their minds ; I added, that I had brought a small stock of I Bibles and Testaments to Evora, which I ! wished to leave for sale in the hands of some I respectable merchant, and that if he were anxious to help to lay the axe to the root of superstition and tyranny, he could not do so more effectually than by undertaking the charge of these books. He declared his will- ingness to do so, and I went away determined to intrust to him half of my stock. I re- turned to the hostelry, and sat down on a log of wood on the hearth within the immense chimney in the common apartment; two surly-looking men were on their knees on the stones; before them was a large heap of pieces of old iron, brass, and copper; they were assorting it, and stowing it away in va- rious bags. They were Spanish contraband- istas of the lowest class, and earned a mise- rable livelihood by smuggling such rubbish from Portugal into Spain. Not a word pro- ceeded from their lips, and when I addressed them in their native language, they returned no other answer than a kind of growl. They looked as dirty and rusty as the iron in which they trafficked ; their four miserable donkeys were in the stable in the rear. The woman of the house and her daughter were exceedingly civil to me, and coming near crouched down, asking various questions about England. A man, dressed somewhat like an English sailor, who sat on the other side of the hearth confronting me, said, " I hate the English, for they are not baptized, and have not the law," meaning the law of God. I laughed, and told him that according to the law of England, no one who was unbaptized could be buried in consecrated ground; where- upon he said, "Then you are stricter than we." He then said, " What is meant by the lion and the unicorn which I saw the other day on the coat of arms over the door of the English Consul at St. Ubes'?" I said they were the arms of England ! " Yes," he re- plied, "but what do they represent!" I said I did not know. "Then," said he, "you do not know the secrets of your own house." I said, " Suppose I were to tell you that they represent the Lion of Bethlehem, and the horned monster of the flaming pit in combat, as to which should obtain the mastery in Eng- land, what would you say ?" He replied, " I should say that you gave a fair answer." This man and myself became great friends ; he came from Palmella, not far from St. Ubes ; he had several mules and horses with him, and dealt in corn and barley. I again walked out and roamed in the environs of the town. About half a mile from the southern wall is a stone fountain, where the muleteers and other people who visit the town are accus- tomed to water their horses. I sat down by it, and there I remained about two hours, en- tering into conversation with every one who halted at the fountain; and I will here ob- serve, that during the time of my sojourn at Evora, I repeated my visit every day, and remained there the same time; and by fol- lowing this plan, I believe that I spoke to at least two hundred of the children of Portugal upon matters relating to their eternal welfare. I found that very few of those whom I ad- dressed had received any species of literary education, none of them had seen the Bible, and not more than half a dozen had the slight- est inkling of what the holy book consisted. I found that most of them were bigoted Pa- pists, and Miguelites at heart. I therefore, when they told me they were Christians, de- nied the possibility of their being so, as they were ignorant of Christ and his command- ments, and placed their hope of salvation on outward forms and superstitious observances, which were the invention of Satan, who wished to keep them in darkness, that at last they might stumble into the pit which he had dug for them. I said repeatedly that the Pope, whom they revered, was an arch de- ceiver, and the head minister of Satan here on earth, and that the monks and friars, whose absence they so deplored, and to whom they had been accustomed to confess themselves, were his subordinate agents. When called upon for proofs, I invariably cited the igno- rance of my auditors respecting the Scrip- tures, and said that if their spiritual guides had been really ministers of Christ, they would not have permitted their flocks to re- main unacquainted with his word Since this occurred, I have been frequently surprised that I experienced no insult and ill- treatment from the people, whose supersti- tions I was thus attacking; but I really ex- perienced none, and am inclined to believe that the utter fearlessness which I displayed, trusting in the protection of the Almighty, may have been the cause. When threatened by danger, the best policy is to fix your eye steadily upon it, and it will in general vanish like the morning mist before the sun; where- as, if you quail before it, it is sure to become more imminent. I have fervent hope that the words of my mouth sank deep into the hearts of some of my auditors, as I observed many of them depart musing and pensive. I occasionally distributed tracts amongst them ; for although they themselves were unable to turn them to much account, I thought that by their means they miffht become of service at some future time, and fall into the hands of others, to whom they misrht be of eternal interest. Many a book which is abandoned to the waters is wafted to some remote shore, and there proves a blessing and a comfort to millions, who are ignorant from whence it came. The next day, which was Friday, I called at the house of my friend Don Geronimo Azveto. I did not find him there, but was directed to the see, or episcopal palace, in an apartment of which I found him, writing, with another gentleman, to whom he intro- duced me ; it was the governor of Evora, who welcomed me "with every mark of kind- ness and affability. After some discourse, THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 23 we went out together to examine an ancient edifice, which was reported to have served, in by-gone times, as a temple to Diana. Part of it was evidently of Roman architec- ture, for there was no mistaking the beautiful light pillars which supported a dome, under which the sacrifices to the most captivating and poetical divinity of the heathen theo- cracy had probably been made ; but the ori- ginal space between the pillars had been filled up with rubbish of a modern date, and the rest of the building was apparently of the architecture of the latter end of the middle ages. It was situated at one end of the building which had once been the seat of the Inquisition, and had served, before the erec- tion of the present see, as the residence of the bishop. Within the see, where the governor now resides, is a superb library, occupying an im- mense vaulted room, like the aisle of a cathe- dral, and in a side apartment is a collection of paintings by Portuguese artists, chiefly portraits, amongst which is that of Don Se- bastian. I sincerely hope it did not do him justice, for it represents him in the shape of an awkward lad of about eighteen, with a bloated booby face with staring eyes, and a ruff round a short apoplectic neck. I was shown several beautifully illumi- nated missals and other manuscripts ; but the one which most arrested my attention, I scarcely need say why, was that which bore the following title : " Forma sive ordinatio Capelli illustrissimi et xianissimi principis Henrici Sexti Regis Anglie et Francie am dm Hibernie descripta serenissio principi Alfonso Regi Portugalie illustri per humilem servitorem srn Willm. Sav. Decanii capelle supradicte." It seemed a voice from the olden times of my dear native land ! This library and pic- ture gallery had been formed by one of the latter bishops, a person of much learning and piety. In the evening I dined with Don Gero- nimo and his brother ; the latter soon left us to attend to his military duties. My friend and myself had now much conversation of considerable interest; he lamented the de- plorable state of ignorance in which his countrymen existed at present. He said that his friend the governor and himself were endeavouring to establish a school in the vi- cinity, and that they had made application to the government for the use of an empty con- vent, called the Espinheiro, or thorn tree, at about a league's distance, and that they had little doubt of their request being complied with. I had before told him who I was, and after expressing joy at the plan which he had in contemplation, I now urged him in the most pressing manner to use all his influence to make the knowledge of the Scripture the basis of the education which the children were to receive, and added, that half the Bibles and Testaments which I had brought with me to Evora were heartily at his service ; he instantly gave me his hand, said he ac- cepted my offer with the greatest pleasure, and would do all in his power to forward my views, which were in many respects his own. I now told him that I did not come to Portu- gal with the view of propagating the dogmas of any particular sect, but with the hope ot" introducing the Bible, which is the well- head of all that is useful and conducive to the happiness of society, that I cared not what people called themselves, provided they fol- lowed the Bible as a guide; for that where the Scriptures were read, neither priestcraft nor tyranny could long exist, and instanced the case of my own country, the cause of whose freedom and prosperity was the Bible, and that only, as the last persecutor of this book, the bloody and infamous Mary, was the last tyrant who had sat on the throne of Eng- land. We did not part till the night was considerably advanced, and the next morning I sent him the books, in the firm and confi- dent hope that a bright and glorious morning was about to rise over the night which had so long cast its dreary shadows over the re- gions of the Alemtejo. The day after this interesting event, which was Saturday, I had more conversation with the man from Palmella. I asked him if in his journeys he had never been attacked by robbers ; he answered no, for that he gene- rally travelled in company with others. " However," said he, " were I alone I should have little fear, for I am well protected." I said that I supposed he carried arms with him. " No other arms than this," said he, pulling out one of those long, desperate-look- ing knives, of English manufacture, with which every Portuguese peasant is usually furnished. This knife serves for many pur- poses, and I should consider it a far more efficient weapon than a dagger. " But," said he, " I do not place much confidence in the knife." I then inquired in what rested his hope of protection. " In this," said he ; and unbuttoning his waistcoat, he showed me a small bag, attached to his neck by a silken string. " In this bag is an oracam, or prayer, written by a person of power, and as long as I carry it about with me, no ill can befall me." Curiosity is the leading feature of my charac- ter, and I instantly said, with eagerness, that I should feel great pleasure in being permitted to read the prayer. " Well," he replied, " you are my friend, and I would do for you what I would for few others, I will show it you." He then asked for my pen-knife, and having unripped the bag, took out a large piece of paper closely folded up. I hurried to my apartment and commenced the exami- nation of it. It was scrawled over in a very illegible hand, and was moreover much stained with perspiration, so that I had con- siderable difficulty in making myself master of its contents ; but I at last accomplished the following literal translation of the charm, which was written in bad Portuguese, but which struck me at the time as being one of the most remarkable compositions that had ever come to my knowledge. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. THE CHAKM. " Just Judge and divine Son of the Virgin Maria, \vho wast born in Bethlehem, a X-.'.yr.i- rene, and wast crucified in the midst of all Jewry, 1 beseech thee, Lord, by thy sixth day, that the body of me be not caught, nor put to death by "the hands of justice at all ; peace be with you, the peace of Christ, may I receive peace, may you receive peace, said God to his disciples. If the accursed justice should distrust me, or have its eyes on me, in order to take me or to rob me, may its eyes not see me, may its mouth not speak to me, may it have ears which may not hear me, may it have hands which may not seize me, may it have feet which may not overtake me ; for may I be armed with the arms of St. George, covered with the cloak of Abraham, and shipped in the ark of Noah, so that it can neither see me, nor hear me, nor draw the blood from my body. I also adjure thee, O Lord, by those three blessed crosses, by those three blessed chalices, by those three blessed clergymen, by those three consecrated hosts, that thou give me that sweet company which thou gavest to the Virgin Maria, from the gates of Bethlehem to the portals of Jerusalem, that I may go and come with pleasure and joy with Jesus Christ, the Son of the Virgin Maria, the prolific yet nevertheless the eternal virgin." The woman of the house and her daughter had similar bags attached to their necks, con- taining charms, which, they said, prevented the witches having power to harm them. The belief in witchcraft is very prevalent amongst the peasantry of the Alemtejo, and I believe of other provinces of Portugal. This is one of the relics of the monkish system, the aim of which, in all countries where it has ex- isted, seems to have been to besot the minds of the people, that they might be more easily misled. All these charms were fabrications of the monks, who had sold them to their in- fatuated conibssants. The monks of the Greek and Syrian churches likewise deal in this ware, which they know r to be poison, but which they would rather vend than the wholesome balm of the gospel, because it brings them a large price, and fosters the de- lusion which enables them to live a life of luxury. The Sunday morning was fine, and the plain before the church of the convent of San Francisco was crowded with people hasten- ing to or returning from the mass. After having performed my morning devotion, and breakfasted, I went down to the kitchen ; the girl Geronima was seated by the fire. I in- quired if she had heard mass? She replied in the negative, and that she did not intend to hear it. Upon my inquiring her motive for absenting herself, she replied, that since the friars had been expelled from their churches and convents she had ceased to attend mass, or to confess herself; for that the government priests had no spiritual power, and conse- quently she never troubled them. She said the friars were holy men and charitable ; for j that every morning those of the convent over | the way fed forty poor persons with the relics i of the meals of the preceding day, but that now ' these people were allowed to starve. I re- plied, that the friars, who lived on the fat of ; the land, could well afford to bestow a few I bones upon their poor, and that their doing so was merely a part of their policy, by which i they hoped to secure to themselves friends in [ time of need. The girl then observed, that i as it was Sunday, I should perhaps like to i see some books, and without waiting for a j reply she produced them. They consisted i principally of popular stories, with lives and miracles of saints, but amongst them was a translation of Volney's Ruins of Empires. I expressed a wish to know how she became possessed of this book. She said that a young man, a great Constitutionalist, had given it to her some months previous, and had pressed her much to read it, for that it was one of the best books in the world. I replied, that the author of it was an emissary of Satan, and an enemy of Jesus Christ and the souls of mankind; that it was written with the sole aim of bringing all religion into contempt, and that it inculcated the doctrine that there was no future state, nor reward for the righteous nor punishment for the wicked. She made no reply, but going into another room, returned with her apron full of dry sticks and brushwood, all which she piled upon the fire, and produced a bright blaze. She then took the book from my hand and placed it upon the flaming pile ; then sitting down, took her rosary out of her pocket and told her beads till the volume was consumed. This was an auto-da-fe in the best sense of the word. On the Monday and Tuesday I paid my usual visits to the fountain, and likewise rode about the neighbourhood on a mule, for the purpose of circulating tracts. I dropped a great many in the favourite walks of the peo- ple of Evora, as I felt rather dubious of their accepting them had I proffered them with my own hand, whereas, should they be observed lying on the ground, I thought that curiosity might cause them to be picked up and ex- amined. I likewise, on the Tuesday evening, paid a farewell visit to my friend Azveto, as it was my intention to leave Evora on the Thursday following and return to Lisbon ; in which view I had engaged a calash of a man who informed me that he had served as a soldier in the grande armee of Napoleon, and been present in the Russian campaign. He looked the very image of a drunkard. His face was covered with carbuncles, and his breath impregnated with the fumes of strong waters. He wished much to converse with me in French, in the speaking of which lan- sruage it seemed he prided himself, but I re- fused, and told him to speak the language of the country, or I would hold no discourse with him. Wednesday was stormy, with occasional rain. On coming down, I found that my friend from Palmella had departed ; but seve- THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 25 ral contrabandistas had arrived from Spain. They were mostly fine fellows, and, unlike the two I had seen the preceding week, who were of much lower degree, were chatty and communicative; they spoke their native Ian- fuage, and no pther, and seemed to hold the 'ortuguese in great contempt. The magnifi- cent tones of the Spanish sounded to great advantage amidst the shrill squeaking dialect of Portugal. I was soon in deep conversation with them, and was much pleased to find that all of them could read. I presented the eldest, a man of about fifty years of age, with a tract in Spanish. He examined it for some time with great attention ; he then rose from his seat, and going into the middle of the apartment, began reading it aloud, slowly and emphatically ; his companions gathered around him, and every now and then express- ed their approbation of what they heard. The reader occasionally called upon me to ex- plain passages which, as they referred to par- ticular texts of Scripture, he did not exactly understand, for not one of the party had ever seen either the Old or New Testament. He continued reading for upwards of an hour, until he had finished the tract; and, at its conclusion, the whole party were clamorous for similar ones, with which I was happy to be able to supply them. Most of these men spoke of priestcraft and the monkish system with the utmost abhor- rence, and said that they should prefer death to submitting again to the yoke which had formerly galled their necks. I questioned them very particularly respecting the opinion of their neighbours and acquaintances on this point, and they assured me that in their part of the Spanish frontier all were of the same mind, and that they cared as little for the Pope and his monks as they did for Don Car- los ; for the latter was a d warf (chicotito) and a tyrant, and the others were plunderers and robbers. I told them they must beware of confounding religion with priestcraft, and that in their abhorrence of the latter they must not forget that there is a God and a Christ to whom they must look for salvation, and whose word it was incumbent upon them to study on every occasion; whereupon they all ex- pressed a devout belief in Christ and the Virgin. These men, though in many respects more enlightened than the surrounding peasantry, were in others as much in the dark ; they be- lieved in witchcraft and in the efficacy of par- ticular charms. The night was very stormy, and at about nine we heard a galloping to- wards the door, and then a loud knocking: it was opened, and in rushed a wild-looking man, mounted on a donkey ; he wore a ragged jacket of sheep skin, called in Spanish za- marra, with breeches of the same as far down as his knees ; his legs were bare. Around his sombrero, or shadowy hat, was tied a large quantity of the herb which in English is called rosemary, in Spanish romero, and in the rustic language of Portugal, alecrim; which last is a word of Scandinavian origin, (el/egren,) signifying the elfin plant, and was probably carried into the south by the Van- dals. The man seemed frantic with terror, and said that the witches had been pursuing him and hovering over his head for the last two leagues. He came from the Spanish, frontier with meal and other articles ; he said that his wife was following him and would soon arrive, and in about a quarter of an hour she made her appearance, dripping with rain, and also mounted on a donkey. I asked my friends the contrabandistas why he wore the rosemary in his hat; whereupon they told me that it was good against witches and the mischances on the road. I had no time to argue against this superstition, for, as the chaise was to be ready at five the next morning, I wished to make the most of the short time which I could devote to sleep. CHAPTER I\. Vexatious Delays Drunken Driver The murdered Mule The Lamentation Adventure on the Heath Fear of Darkness Portuguese Fidalgo The Escort Return to Lisbon. I ROSE at four, and after having taken some refreshment, I descended and found the strange man and his wife sleeping in the chimney corner by the fire, which was still burning ; they soon awoke and began preparing their breakfast, which consisted of salt sardinhas, broiled upon the embers. In the mean time the woman sang snatches of the beautiful hymn, very common in Spain, which com- mences thus : " Once of old upon a mountain, shepherds over- come with sleep, Near to Bethlem's holy tower, kept at dead of night their sheep ; Round about the trunk they nodded of a huge ignited oak, Whence the crackling flame ascending bright and clear the darkness broke." On hearing that I was about to depart r ahe said, " You shall have some of my husband's rosemary, which will keep you from danger, and prevent any misfortune occurring." I was foolish enough to permit her to put some of it in my hat ; and the man having by this time arrived with his mules, I bade farewell to my friendly hostesses, and entered the chaise with my servant. I remarked, at the time, that the mules C 26 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. which drew us were the finest I had ever seen ; the largest could be little short of six- teen hands high ; and the fellow told me in his bad French that he loved them better than his wife and children. We turned round the corner of the convent and proceeded down the street which leads to the south-western gate. The driver now stopped before the door of a large house, and having alighted, said that it was yet very early, and that he was afraid to venture forth, as it was very probable we should be robbed, and himself murdered, as the robbers who resided in the town would be apprehensive of his discover- ing them, but that the family who lived in this house were going to Lisbon, and would depart in about a quarter of an hour, when we might avail ourselves of an escort of soldiers which they would take with them, and in their company we should run no danger. I told him I had no fear, and commanded him to drive on; but he said he would not, and left us in the street. We waited an hour, when two carriages came to the door of the house, but it seems the family were not yet ready, whereupon the coachman likewise got down and went away. At the expiration of about half an hour the family came out, and when their luggage had been arranged they called for the coachman, but he was nowhere to be found. Search was made for him, but ineffectually, and an hour more was spent before another driver could be procured ; but the escort had not yet made its appearance, and it was not before a servant had been twice despatched to the barracks that it arrived. At last every thing was ready, and they drove off. All this time I had seen nothing of our own coachman, and I fully expected that he had abandoned us altogether. In a few minutes I saw him staggering up the street in a state of intoxication, attempting to sing the Marseillois hymn. I said nothing to him, but sat observ- ing him. He stood for some time staring at the mules, and talking incoherent nonsense in French. At last he said, " I am not so drunk but I can ride," and proceeded to lead his mules toward the gate. When out of the town he made several ineffectual attempts to mount the smallest mule which bore the sad- dle; he at length succeeded, and instantly commenced spurring at a furious rate down the road. We arrived at a place where a nar- row rocky path branched off, by taking which we should avoid a considerable circuit round the city wall, which otherwise it would be necessary to make before we could reach the road to Lisbon, which lay at the north-east; he now said, "I shall take this path, for by so doing we shall overtake the family in a minute; 1 ' so into the path we went; it was scarcely wide enough to admit the carriage, and exceedingly steep and broken; we pro- ceeded ascending and descending, the wheels cracked, and the motion was so violent that vre were in danger of being cast out as from a sling. I saw that if we remained in the car- riage it must be broken in pieces, as our weight must insure its destruction. I called to him in Portuguese to stop, but he flogged and spurred the beasts the more. My man now entreated me for God's sake to speak to him in French, for, if any thing would pacify him, that would. I did so, and entreated him to let us dismount and walk, till we had cleared this dangerous way. The result justified Antonio's anticipation. He instantly stopped and said, " Sir, you are master, you have only to com- mand and I shall obey." We dismounted and walked on till we reached the great road, when we once more seated ourselves. The family were about a quarter of a mile in advance, and we were no sooner reseated, than he lashed the mules into full gallop for the purpose of overtaking it; his cloak had fallen from his shoulder, and in endeavouring to readjust it, he dropped the string from his hand by which he guided the large mule, it became entangled in the legs of the poor ani- mal, which fell heavily on its neck, it strug- gled for a moment, and then lay stretched across the way, the shafts over its body. I was pitched forward into the dirt, and the drunken driver fell upon the murdered mule. I was in a great rage, and cried, "You drunken renegade, who are ashamed to speak the language of your own country, you have broken the staff of your existence, and may now starve." " Paciencia," said he, and began kicking the head of the mule, in order to make it rise; but I pushed him down, and taking his knife, which had fallen from his pocket, cut the bands by which it was attached to the carriage, but life had fled, and the film of death had begun to cover its eyes. The fellow, in the recklessness of intoxica- tion, seemed at first disposed to make light of his loss, r-aying, "The mule is dead, it was God's will that she should die, what more can be said ? Paciencia." Meanwhile, I despatch- ed Antonio to the town for the purpose of hir- ing mules, and, having taken my baggage from the chaise, waited on the road side until he should arrive. The fumes of the liquor began now to de- part from the fellow's brain; he clasped his hands, and exclaimed, " Blessed Virgin, what is to become of me? How am I to support myself? Where am I to get another mule ? For my mule, my best mule, is dead, she fell upon the road, and died of a sudden! I have been in France and in other countries, and have seen beasts of all kinds, but such a mule as that I have never seen; but she is dead my mule is dead she fell upon the road and died of a sudden !" He continued in this strain for a considerable time, and the burden of his lamentation was always, " My mule is dead, she fell upon the road and died of a sudden." At length he took the collar from the creature's neck, and put it upon the other, which with some difficulty he placed in the shafts. A beautiful boy of about thirteen now came from the direction of the town, running along the road with the velocity of a hare: he stop- ped before the dead mule and burst into tears : it was the man's son, who had heard of the ac- THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 27 r.ident from Antonio. This was too much for the poor fellow; he ran up to the boy, and said, "Don't cry, our bread is gone, but it is God's will; the mule is dead!" He then flung himself on the ground, uttering fearful cries. " I could have borne my loss," said he, " but when I saw my child cry, I became a fool." I give him two or three crowns, and added some words of comfort; assuring him that I had no doubt that if he abandoned drink, the Almighty God would take compassion on him and repair his loss. At length he became more composed, and placing my baggage in the chaise, we returned to the town, where I found two excellent riding mules awaiting my arrival at the inn. I did not see the Spanish woman, or I should have told her of the little efficacy of rosemary in this instance. I have known several drunkards amongst the Portuguese, but, without one exception, they have been individuals who, having tra- velled abroad, like this fellow, have returned with a contempt for their own country, and polluted with the worst vices of the lands which they have visited. I would strongly advise any of my country- men who may chance to read these lines, that, if their fate lead them into Spain or Portugal, they avoid hiring as domestics, or being con- nected with, individuals of the lower classes who speak any other language than their own, as the probability is that they are heartless thieves and drunkards. These gentry are invariably saying all they can in dispraise of their native land ; and it is my opinion, ground- ed upon experience, that an individual who is capable of such baseness would not hesitate at the perpetration of any villany, for, next to the love of God, the love of country is the best preventive of crime. He who is proud of his country, will be particularly cautious not to do any thing which is calculated to disgrace it. We now journeyed towards Lisbon, and reached Monte Moro about two o'clock. After taking such refreshment as the place afforded, we pursued our way till we were within a quarter of a league of the huts which stand on the edge of the savage wilderness we had before crossed. Here we were over- taken by a horseman; he was a powerful, middle-sized man, and was mounted on a noble Spanish horse. He had a broad, slouching sombrero on his head, and wore a jerkin of blue cloth, with large bosses of sil- ver for buttons, and clasps of the same metal ; he had breeches of yellow leather, and im- mense jack-boots : at his saddle was slung a formidable gun. He inquired if I intended to pass the night at Vendas Novas, and on my replying in the affirmative, he said that he would avail himself of our company. He now looked towards the sun, whose disk was rapidly sinking beneath the horizon, and en- treated us to spur on and make the most of its light, for that the moor was a horrible place in the dusk. He placed himself at our head, and we trotted briskly on, the boy or mule- teer who attended us running behind with- out exhibiting the slightest symptom of fatigue. We entered upon the moor, and had ad- vanced about a mile when dark night fell around us ; we were in a wild path, with high brushwood on either side, when the rider said that he could not confront the darkness, and begged me to ride on before and he would follow after : I could hear him trembling. I asked the reason of his terror, and he replied that at one time darkness was the same thing to him as day, but that of late years he dreaded it especially in wild places. I com- plied with his request, but I \yas ignorant of the way, and as I could scarcely see my hand, was continually going wrong. This made the man impatient, and he again placed himself at our head. We proceeded so for a considerable way, when he again stopped, and said that the power of the darkness was too much for him. His horse seemed to be infected with the same panic, for it shook in every limb. I now told him to call on the name of the Lord Jesus, who was able to turn the darkness into light, but he gave a terrible shout, and, brandishing his gun aloft, dis- charged it in the air. His horse sprang for- ward at full speed, and my mule, which was one of the swiftest of its kind, took fright and followed at the heels of the charger. Antonio and the boy were left behind. On we flew like a whirlwind, the hoofs of the animals illuming the path with the sparks of fire they struck from the stones. I knew not whither we were going, but the dumb crea- tures were acquainted with the way, and soon brought us to Vendas Novas, where we were rejoined by our companions. I thought this man was a coward, but I did him injustice, for during the day he was as brave as a lion, and feared no one. About five years since, he had overcome two robbers who had attacked him on the moors, and, after tying their hands behind them, had de- livered them up to justice; but at -night the rustling of a leaf filled him with terror. I have known similar instances of the kind in persons of otherwise extraordinary resolution. For myself, I confess I am not a person of extraordinary resolution, but the dangers of the night daunt me no more than those of mid-day. The man in question was a farmer from Evora, and a person of considerable wealth. I found the inn at Vendas Novas thronged with people, and had some difficulty in ob- taining accommodation and refreshment. It was occupied by the family of a certain Fi dalgo, from Estremoz ; he was on the way tu Lisbon, conveying a large sum of money, as was said probably the rents of his estates. He had with him a body-guard of four-and- tw r enty of his dependants, each armed with a rifle; they consisted of his swineherds, shep- herds, cowherds, and hunters, and were com- manded by two youths, his son, and nephew ; the latter of whom was in regimentals ; never- theless, notwithstanding the number of his ; troop, it appeared that the Fidalgo laboured 28 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. under considerable apprehension of being despoiled upon the waste which lay between Vendas Novas and Pegoens, as he had just requested a guard of four soldiers from the officer who commanded a detachment sta- tioned here : there were many females in his company, who, I was told, were his illegiti- mate daughters for he bore an infamous moral character, and was represented to me as a stanch friend of Don Miguel. It was not long before he came up to me and my new acquaintance, as we sat by the kitchen fire : he was a tall man of about sixty, but stooped much. His countenance was by no means pleasing : he had a long hooked nose, small twinkling cunning eyes, and what I liked worst of all, a continual sneering smile, which I firmly believe to be the index of a treacherous and malignant heart. He ad- dressed me in Spanish, which, as he resided not far from the frontier, he spoke with fluency, but, contrary to my usual practice, I was reserved and silent. On the following morning I rose at seven, and found that the party from Estremoz had started several hours previously. I break- fasted with my acquaintance of the preceding night, and we set out to accomplish what re- mained of our journey. The sun had now arisen ; and all his fears had now left him he breathed defiance against all the robbers of the Alemtejo. When we had advanced about a league, the boy who attended us said he saw heads of men among the brushwood. Our cavalier instantly seized his gun, and causing his horse to make two or three lofty bounds, held it in one hand, the muzzle pointed in the direction indicated, but the heads did not again make their appearance, and it was probably but a false alarm. We resumed our way, and the conversation turned, as might be expected, upon robbers. My companion, who seemed to be acquainted with every inch of ground over which we passed, had a legend to tell of every dingle and every pine-clump. We reached a slight eminence, on the top of which grew three stately pines ; about half a league farther on was another similar one; these two emi- nences commanded a view of the road from Pegoens and Vendas Novas, so that all peo- ple going and coming could be descried, whilst yet at a distance. My friend told me that these heights were favourite stations of robbers. Some two years since, a band of six mounted banditti remained there three days, and plundered whomsoever approached from either quarter: their horses, saddled and bridled, stood picqueted at the foot of the trees, and two scouts, one for each eminence, continually sat in the topmost branches and gave notice of the approach of travellers; when at a proper distance, the robbers below sprung upon their horses, and putting them to full gallop, made at their prey, shouting, Rende/e, Picaru! Renddt, Picaru! (Surrender, scoundrel, surrender!) We, how- ever, passed unmolested, and about a quarter ! of a mile before we reached Pegoens, over- took the family of the Fidalgo. Had they been conveying the wealth of Ind through the deserts of Arabia, thev could i not have travelled with more precaution. I The nephew, with drawn sabre, rode in front; [ pistols in his holsters, and the usual Spanish I gun slung at his saddle. Behind him I tramped six men in a rank, with muskets i shouldered, and each of them wore at his girdle a hatchet, which was probably in- tended to cleave the thieves to the brisket should they venture to come to close quarters. There were six vehicles, two of them calashes, in which latter rode the Fidalgo and his daughters ; the others were covered carts, and seemed to be filled with household furniture ; each of these vehicles had an armed rustic on either side ; and the son, a lad about sixteen, brought up the rear, with a squad equal to that of his cousin in the van. The soldiers, who by good fortune were light horse, and admirably mounted, were galloping about in all directions, for the purpose of driving the enemy from cover, should they happen to be lurking in the neighbourhood. I could not help thinking as I passed by, that this martial array was very injudicious, for though it was calculated to awe plunder- ers, it was likewise calculated to allure them, as it seemed to hint that immense wealth was passing through their territories. I do not know how the soldiers and rustics would have behaved in case of an attack ; but am inclined to believe that if three such men as Richard Turpin had suddenly galloped forth from behind one of the bush-covered knolls, neither the numbers nor resistance opposed to them would have prevented them from bear- ing away the contents of the strong box jingling in their saddle-bags. From this moment nothing worthy of re- lating occurred till our arrival at Aldea Gal- lega, where we passed the night, and next morning at three o'clock embarked in the passage-boat for Lisbon, where we arrived at eight and thus terminates my first wander- ing in the Alemtejo. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. CHAPTER V. The College The Rector -Shibboleth National Prejudices Youlhful Sports Jews of Lisbon- Bad Faith Crime and Superstition Strange Proposal. ONE afternoon Antonio said to me, " It has struck me, Senhor, that your worship would like to see the college qf the English *****." " By all means," I replied, " pray conduct me thither." So he led me through various streets until we stopped before the gate of a large building in one of the most elevated situations in Lisbon ; upon our ringing, a kind of porter presently made his appearance, and demanded our business. Antonio explained it to him. He hesitated for a moment ; but pre- sently bidding us enter, conducted us to a large gloomy-looking stone hall, where, beg- ging us to be seated, he left us. We were soon joined by a venerable personage, seem- ingly about seventy, in a kind of flowing robe or surplice, with a collegiate cap upon his head ; notwithstanding his age there was a ruddy tinge upon his features, which were perfectly English. Coming slowly up he addressed me in the English tongue, request- ing to know how he could serve me. I in- formed him that I was an English traveller, and should be happy to be permitted to inspect the college, provided it were customary to show it to strangers. He informed me that there could be no objection to accede to my request, but that I came at rather an unfortu- nate moment, it being the hour of refection. I apologized, and was preparing to retire, but he begged me to remain, as, in a few minutes, the refection would be over, when the princi- pals of the college would do themselves the pleasure of waiting on me. We sat down on the stone bench, when he commenced surveying me attentively for some time, and then cast his eyes on Antonio. " Whom have we here?" said he to the lat- ter; "surely your features are not unknown to me ?" " Probably not, your reverence," replied Antonio, getting up and bowing most profoundly. " I lived in the family of the Countess * * *, at Cintra, when your venera- bility was her spiritual gifide." " True, true," said the old gentleman, sighing, " I remember you now. Ah, Antonio, things are strangely changed since then. A new government a new system a new religion, I may say." Then looking again at me, he demanded whi- ther I was journeying. " I am going to Spain," said I, " and have stopped at Lisbon by the way." " Spain, Spain !" said the old man ; " suruly yon have chosen a strange time to visit Spain ; there is much blood-shedding in Spain at present, and violent wars and tu- mults." " I consider the cause of Don Car- los as already crushed," I replied; " he has lost the only general capable of leading his armies to Madrid. Zumalacarregui, his Cid, has fallen." " Do not flatter yourself; I beg your pardon, but do not think, young man, that the Lord will permit the powers of darkness to triumph so easily ; the cause of Don Car- los is not lost; its success did not depend on the life of a frail worm like him whom you, have mentioned." We continued in discourse some little time, when he arose, saying that by this time he believed the refection was concluded. He had scarcely left me five minutes when three individuals entered the stone hall, and advanced slowly towards me; the principals of the college, said I to myself; and so indeed they were. The first of those gentlemen, and to whom the other two appeared to pay con- siderable deference, was a thin, spare person, somewhat above the middle height ; his com- plexion was very pale, his features emaciated but fine, his eyes dark and sparkling; he might be about fifty the other two were men in the prime of life. One was of rather low stature ; his features were dark, and wore that pinched and mortified expression so frequently to be observed in the countenance of the En- glish ***** : the other was a bluff, rud- dy, and rather good-looking young man ; all three were dressed alike in the usual college cap and silk gown. Coming up, the eldest of the three took me by the hand and thus ad- dressed me in clear silvery tones : "Welcome, Sir, to our poor house ; we are always happy to see in it a countryman from our beloved native land ; it will afford us ex- treme satisfaction to show you over it ; it is true that satisfaction is considerably dimi- nished by the reflection that it possesses no- thing worthy of the attention of a traveller; there is nothing curious pertaining to it save perhaps its economy, and that, as \ve walk about, we will explain to you. Permit us, first of all, to introduce ourselves to you ; I am rector of this poor English house of refuge ; this gentleman is our professor of- humanity, and this (pointing to the ruddy personage) is our professor of polite learning, Hebrew, and Syriac. Myself. I humbly salute you all; excuse me if I inquire who was the venerable gen- tleman who put himself to the inconvenience of staying with me whilst I was awaiting your leisure. Rector. ! a most admirable personage, our almoner, our chaplain ; he came into this country before any of us were born, and here he has continued ever since. Now let us as- cend that we may show you our poor house : but how is this, my dear Sir, how is it that I see you standing uncovered in our cold, damp hall"? Myself. I can easily explain that to you ; it is a custom which has become quite natural to me. I am just arrived from Russia, where c2 30 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. I have spent some years. A Russian invaria- bly takes off his hat whenever he enters be- neath a root', whether it pertain to hut, shop, or palace. To omit doing so would be con- sidered as a mark of brutality and barbarism, and for the following reason: in every apart- ment of a Russian house there is a small pic- ture of the Virgin stuck up in a corner, just below the ceiling the hat is taken otf out of respect to her. Quick glances of intelligence were ex- changed by the three gentlemen. I had stum- bled upon their shibboleth, and proclaimed myself an Ephnumite, and not of Gilead. I have no doubt that up to that moment they had considered me as one of themselves a member, and perhaps a priest, of their own ancient, grand, and imposing religion, for such it is, I must confess an error into which it was natural that they should fall, \\hat mo- tives could a Protestant have for intruding upon their privacy ? What interest could betake in inspecting the economy of their establish- ment! So far, however, from relaxing in their attention after this discovery, their politeness visibly increased, though, perhaps, a scruti- nizing observer might have detected a shade of less cordiality in their manner. Rector. Beneath the ceiling in every apart- ment? I think I understood you so. How delightful how truly interesting; a picture of the Blessed Virgin beneath the ceiling in every apartment of a Russian house ! Truly, this intelligence is as unexpected as it is de- lightful. I shall from this moment entertain a much higher opinion of the Russians than hitherto most truly an example worthy of imitation. I wish sincerely that it was our own practice to place an imagt of the Blessed Vir- gin beneath the ceiling in every corner of our houses. What say you, our professor of hu- manity ? What say you to the information so obligingly communicated to us by this excel- lent gentleman 1 Humanity Professor. It is, indeed, most delightful, most cheering, I may say; but I confess that I was not altogether unprepared for it. The adoration of the Blessed Virgin is becoming every day more extended in coun- tries where it has hitherto been unknown or forgotten. Dr. W , when he passed through Lisbon, gave me some most interest- ing details with respect to the labours of the propaganda in India. Even England, our own beloved country My obliging friends showed me all over their "poor house," it certainly did not ap- pear a very rich one; it was spacious, and rather dilapidated. The library was small, and possessed nothing remarkable ; the view, however, from the roof, over the greater part of Lisbon and the Tagus, was very grand and noble ; but I did not visit this place in the hope of seeing busts, or books, or fine pros- pects, I visited this strange old house to converse with its inmates, for my favourite, I might say, my only study, is man. I found these gentlemen much what I had anticipated ; for this was not the first time that I had visll- ed an English ***** establishment in a foreign land. They were full of amiability and courtesy to their heretic countryman, and though the advancement of their religion was with them an object of paramount importance, I soon found that, with ludicrous inconsist- ency, they cherished, to a wonderful decree, national prejudices almost extinct in the mo- ther land, even to the disparagement of those of their own darling faith. I spoke of the English *****, of their high resppcta- bility, and of the loyalty which they had uni- formly displayed to their sovereign, though of a different religion, and by whom they had been not unfrequently subjected to much op- pression and injustice. Rector. My dear Sir, I am rejoiced to hear you; 1 see that you are well acquainted with the great body of those of our faith in Eng- land. They are, as you have well described them, a most respectable and loyal body ; from loyalty, indeed, they never swerved, and though they have been accused of plots and conspiracies, it is now well known that such had no real existence, but were merely ca- lumnies invented by their religious enemies. During the civil wars the English ***** cheerfully shed their blood and squandered their fortunes in the cause of the unfortunate martyr, notwithstanding that he never favour- ed them, and invariably looked upon them with suspicion. At present the English ***** are the most devoted subjects of our gracious sovereign. I should be happy if I could say as much for our Irish brethren ; but their conduct has been oh ! detestable. Yet what can you expect? The true * * * * blush for them. A certain person is a dis- grace to ihe church of which he pretends to be the servant. Where does he find in our canons sanction for his proceedings, his un- dutiful expressions towards one who is his sovereign by divine right, and who can do no wrong? And above all, where does he find authority for inflaming the passions of a vile mob against a nation intended by nature and by position to command them? Myself. I believe there is an Irish college in this city ? Rector. I believe there is; but it does not flourish, there are few or no pupils. Oh ! I looked through a window, at a great height, and saw about twenty or thirty fine lads sporting in a court below. " This is as it should be," said I; "those boys will not make worse priests from a little early devo- tion to trap-ball and cudgel playing. I dis- like a staid, serious, puritanic education, as I firmly believe that it encourages vice and hypocrisy." We then went into the Rector's room, where, above a crucifix, was hanging a small portrait. Myself. That was a great and portentous man, honest withal. I believe the body of which he was the founder, and which has been so much decried, has effected infinitely more good than it has caused harm.- THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 31 Rector. What do I hear? You, an Eng- lishman and a Protestant, and yet an admirer of Ignatius Loyola ! Myself. I will say nothing with respect to the doctrine of the Jesuits, for, as you have observed, I am a Protestant; but I am ready to assert that there are no people in the world better qualified, upon the whole, to be in- trusted with the education of youth. Their moral system and discipline are truly admi- rable. Their pupils, in after life, are seldom vicious and licentious characters, and are in general men of learning, science, and pos- sessed of every elegant accomplishment. I execrate the conduct of the liberals of Madrid in murdering last year the helpless fathers, by whose care and instruction two of the finest minds of Spain have been evolved the two ornaments of the liberal cause and modern literature of Spain, for such are To- reno and Martinez de la Rosa. . . . . Gathered in small clusters about the pil- lars at the lower extremities of the Gold and Silver streets in Lisbon, may be observed, about noon in every day, certain strange-look- ing men, whose appearance is neither Portu- guese nor European. Their dress generally consists of a red cap, with a blue silken tas- sel at the top of it, a blue tunic girded at the waist with a red sash, and wide linen panta- loons or trousers. He who passes by these froups generally hears them conversing in roken Spanish or Portuguese, and occasion- ally in a harsh guttural language, which the oriental traveller knows to be the Arabic, or a dialect thereof. These people are the Jews of Lisbon. Into the midst of one of these groups I one day introduced myself, and pro- nounced a bentka, or blessing. I have lived in different parts of the world, much amongst the Hebrew race, and am well acquainted with their ways and phraseology. I was rather anxious to become acquainted with the tate of the Portuguese Jews, and I had now an opportunity. "The man is a powerful rabbi," said a voice in Arabic; "it behoves us to treat him kindly." They welcomed me. I favoured their mistake, and in a few days I knew all that related to them and their traffic in Lisbon. 1 found them a vile, infamous rabble, about two hundred in number. With a few excep- tions, they consist of escapados from the Bar- bary shore, from Tetuan, from Tangier, but principally from Mogadore; fellows who have fled to a foreign land from the punish- ment due to their misdeeds. Their manner of life in Lisbon is worthy of such a goodly assemblage of amis rcunis. The generality of them pretend to work in gold and silver, and keep small peddling shops; they, how- ever, principally depend for their livelihood on an extensive traffic in stolen goods which they carry on. It is said that there is honour amongst thieves, but this is certainly not the. case with the Jews of Lisbon, for they are so greedy and avaricious, that they are constantly quarrelling about their ill-gotten gain, the re- 1 suit being that they frequently ruin each other. Their mutual jealousy is truly extraordinary. If one, by cheating and roguery, gains a cruzado in the presence of another, the latter instantly says, " I cry halves," and if the first , refuse, he is instantly threatened with an in- formation. The manner in which they cheat each other has, with all its infamy, occasion- ally something extremely droll and ludicrous. I was one day in the shop of a Swiri, or Jeflr of Mogadore, when a Jew from Gibraltar en- tered, with a Portuguese female, who held in her hand a mantle, richly embroidered with, gold. Gibraltar Jew. (Speaking in broken Ara- bic.) Good-day, O Swiri ; God has favoured me this day; here is a bargain by which we shall both gain. I have bought this mantle of the woman almost for nothing, for it is stolen ; but I am poor, as you know ; I have not a cruzado; pay her therefore the price, that we may then forthwith sell the mantle and divide the gain. Swiri. Willingly, brother of Gibraltar; I will pay the woman for the mantle; it does not appear a bad one. Thereupon he flung two cruzados to the woman, who forthwith left Ihe shop. Gibraltar Jew. Thanks, brother Swiri, this is very kind of you. Now let us go and sell the mantle; the gold alone is well worth a moidore: but I am poor, and have nothing to eat ; give me, therefore, the half of that sum, and keep the mantle ; I shall be content. Swiri. May Allah blot out your name, you thief! What mean you by asking me for money? I bought the mantle of the woman, and paid for it. I know nothing of you. Go out of my doors, dog of a Nazarene ! if not, I will pay you with a kick. The dispute was referred to one of the sabios, or priests; but the sabio, who was also from Mogadore, at once took the part of the Swiri, and decided that the other should have nothing. Whereupon the Gibraltar Jew- cursed the sabio, his father, mother, and all his family. The sabio replied, " I put you in ndui," a kind of purgatory, or hell. "I put you in seven nduis," retorted the incensed Jew, over whom, however, superstitious fear speedily prevailed ; he faltered, became pale, and, dropping his voice, retreated, trembling in every limb. The Jews have two synagogues in Lisbon : both are small; one is, however, tolerably well furnished; it has its reading-desk, and in the middle there is a rather handsome chan- Idelier; the other is little better than a sty, filthy to a degree, without ornament of any kind. The congregation of this last are thieves to a man ; no Jew of the slightest re- i spectability ever enters it. How well do superstition and crime go i hand in hand ! These, wretched beings break ithe eternal commandments of their Maker without scruple; but they will not partake of the beast of the uncloven foot and the fish which has no scales. They pay no regard to the denunciations of holy prophets against the 32 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. children of sin, but they quake at the sound of a dark cabalistic word, pronounced by one perhaps their equal or superior in villany, as if God would delegate the exercise of his power to the workers of iniquity. IwasonedaysaunteringontheCasidrea,when a Jew, with whom I had previously exchanged a word or two, came up and addressed me. Jew. The blessing of God upon you, bro- ther ! I know you to be a wise and powerful man, and I have conceived much regard for you ; it is on that account that I wish to put you in the way of gaining much money. Come with me, and I will conduct you to a place where there are forty chests of tea. It is asereka,(arobbery,) and the thieves are willing to dispose of it for a trifle, for there is search being made, and they are in much fear. I can raise one-half of what they demand ; do you supply the other: we will then divide it. each shall go his own way and dispose of his portion. Myself. Wherefore, O son of Arbat, do you propose this to me, who am a stranger? Surely you are mad. Have you not your own people about you, whom you know, and in whom you can confide'? Jew. It is because I know our people here that 1 do not confide in them; we are in the galoot of sin. Were I to confide in my bre- thren, there would be a dispute, and perhaps they would rob me; and few of them have any money. Were I to apply to the sabio, he might consent, but when I ask for rny portion he would put me in ndui. You I do not fear; you are good, and would do me no harm, un- less I attempted to deceive you, and that I dare not do, for I know you are powerful. Come with me, master, for I wish to gain something, that I may return to Arbat, where I have children .... Such are Jews in Lisbon. CHAPTER VI. Cold of Portugal Extortion prevented Sensation of Loneliness The Dog The Convent En- chanting Landscape Moorish Fortresses Prayer for the tSick. ABOUT a fortnight after my return from Evora, having made the necessary prepara- tions, I set out on my journey for Badajoz, from which town I intended to take the dili- fence to Madrid. Badajoz lies about a hun- red miles distant from Lisbon, and is the principal frontier town of Spain in the direc- tion of the Alemtejo. To reach this place, it was necessary to retravel the road as far as Monte Moro, which I had already passed in my excursion to Evora; I had therefore very little pleasure to anticipate from novelty of scenery. Moreover, in this journey I should be a solitary traveller, with no other compa- nion than the muleteer, as it was my intention to take my servant no farther than Aldea Gal- lega, for which place I started at four in the afternoon. Warned by former experience, I did not now embark in a small boat, but in one of the regular passage felouks, in which we reached Aldea Gallega, after a voyage of six hours ; for the boat was heavy, there was no wind to propel it, and the crew were obliged to ply their huge oars the whole way. In a word, this passage was the reverse of the first, safe in every respect, but so sluggish and tiresome that I a hundred times wished myself again under the guidance of the wild lad, galloping before the hurricane over the foaming billows. From eight till ten the cold was truly terrible; and though I was closely wrapped in an excellent fur "shoob," with which I had braved the frosts of Russian win- ters, I shivered in every limb, and was far more rejoiced when I again set my foot on the Alemtejo, than when I landed for the first time, after having escaped the horrors of the tempest. I took up my quarters for the night at a house to which my friend who feared the darkness had introduced me on my return from Evora, and where, though I paid merci- lessly dear for every thing, the accommoda- tion was superior to that of the common inn in the square. My first care now was to inquire for mules to convey myself and baggage to Elvas, from whence there are but three short leagues to the Spanish town of Badajoz. The people of the house informed me that they had an excellent pair at my disposal, but when I inquired the price, they were not ashamed to demand four moid ores. I offered them three, which was too much, but which, however, they did net accept, for knowing me to be an Englishman, they thought they had an excellent opportunity to practice imposi- tion, not imagining that a person so rich as an Englishman must be, would go out in a cold night for the sake of obtaining a reasonable bargain. They were, however, much mis- taken, as I told them that rather than encourage them in their knavery I should be content to return to Lisbon; whereupon they dropped their demand to three and a half, but I made them no answer, and going out with Antonio, proceeded to the house of the old man who had accompanied us to Evora. We knocked a considerable time, for he was in bed ; at length he arose and admitted us, but on hear- ing our object, he said that his mules were again gone to Evora, under the charge of the boy for the purpose of transporting some arti- cles of merchandise. He, however, recom- mended us to a person in the neighbourhood j who kept mules for hire, and there Antonio engaged two fine beasts for two moidores and a half. I say he engaged them, for I stood aloof and spoke not, and the proprietor, who THE IHBLE IN SPAIN. exhibited them, and who stood half-dressed, with a lamp in his hand and shivering with cold, was not aware that they were intended for a foreigner till the agreement was made, and he had received a part of the sum in earnest. I returned to the inn well pleased, and having taken some refreshment, went to rest, paying little attention to the people, who glanced daggers at me from their small Jew- ish eyes. At'fi ve the next morning the mules were at the door; a lad of some nineteen or twenty- years of age attended them; he was short but exceedingly strong built, and possessed the largest head which I ever beheld upon mortal shoulders ; neck he had none, at least I could discern nothing which could be enti- tled to that name. His features were hide- ously ugly, and upon addressing him I dis- covered that he was an idiot. Such was my intended companion in a journey of nearly a hundred miles, which would occupy four days, and which lay over the most savage and ill noted track in the whole kingdom. I took leave of my servant almost with tears, for he had always served me with the greatest fidelity, and had exhibited an assiduity and a wish to please which afforded me the ut- most satisfaction. We started, my uncouth guide sitting tailor- fashion on the sumpter mule upon the bag- gage. The moon had just gone down, and the morning was pitchy dark, and, as usual, piercingly cold. We soon entered the dis- mal wood, which I had already traversed, and through which we wended our way for some time, slowly and mournfully. Not a sound was to be heard save the trampling of the animals, not a breath of air moved the leaf- less branches, no animal stirred in the thick- ets, no bird, not even the owl, flew over our heads, all seemed desolate and dead, and dur- ing my many and far wanderings, I never ex- perienced a greater sensation of loneliness, and a greater desire for conversation and an exchange of ideas than then. To speak to the idiot was useless, for though competent to show the road, with which he was well ac- quainted, he had no other answer than an un- couth laugh to any question put to him. Thus situated, like many other persons when hu- man comfort is not at hand, I turned my heart to God, and began to commune with him, the result of which was that my mind soon be- came quieted and comforted. We passed on our way uninterrupted ; no thieves showed themselves, nor indeed did we see a single individual till we arrived at Pegoens, and from thence to Vendas Novas our fortune was the same. I was welcomed with great kindness by the people of the hostelry of the latter place, who were well acquainted with me, on account of my having twice passed the night under their roof. The name of the keeper of this inn is, or was, Jose Bias Azido, and unlike the generality of those of the same profession as himself in Portugal, he is an honest man, and a stranger and foreigner who takes up his quarters at his I inn, may rest assured that he will not be most unmercifully pillaged and cheated when the hour of reckoning shall arrive, as he will not be charged a single re more than a native Portuguese on a similar occasion. I paid at this place exactly one half of the sum which was demanded from me at Arroyolos, where I passed the ensuing night, and where the ac- commodation was in every respect inferior. At twelve next day we arrived at Monte Moro, and, as I was not pressed for time, I determined upon viewing the ruins which cover the top and middle part of the stately hill with towers above the town. Having ordered some refreshments at the inn where we dismounted, I ascended till I arrived at a large wall or rampart, which, at a certain al- titude embraces the whole hill. I crossed a rude bridge of stones, which bestrides a small hollow or trench ; and passing by a large tower, entered through a portal into the inclosed part of the hill. On the left hand stood a church, in good preservation, and still devoted to the purposes of religion, but which I could not enter, as the door was locked, and I saw no one at hand to open it. I soon found that my curiosity had led me to a most extraordinary place, which quite beggars the scanty powers of description with which I am gifted. I stumbled on amongst ruined walls, and at one time found I was treading over vaults, as I suddenly started back from a yawning orifice into which my next step, as I strolled musing along, would have precipitated me. I pro- ceeded for a considerable way by the eastern wall, till I heard a tremendous bark, and presently an immense dog, such as those which guard the flocks in the neighbourhood against the wolves, came bounding to attack me " with eyes that glowed and fangs that grinned." Had I retreated, or had recourse to any other mode of defence than that which I invariably practice under such circum- stances, he would probably have worried me; but I stooped till my chin nearly touched my knee, and looked him full in the eyes, and, as John Leyden says, in the noblest ballad which the Land of Heather has produced : " The hound he yowled and back he fled, As struck with fairy charm." It is a fact known to many people, and I believe it has been frequently stated, that no large and fierce dog or animal of any kind, with the exception of the bull, which shuts his eyes and rushes blindly forward, will venture to attack an individual who confronts it with a firm and motionless countenance. I say large and fierce, for it is much easier to repel a bloodhound or bear of Finland in this manner than a dunghill cur or a terrier, against which a stick or a stone is a much more cer- tain defence. This will astonish no one who considers that the calm reproving glance of reason, which allays the excesses of the mighty and courageous in our own species, has seldom any other effect than to add to the insolence of the feeble and foolish, who be- 34 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. come placid as doves upon the infliction of chastisements, which, if attempted to be ap- plied to the former, would only serve to ren- der them more terrible, and, like gunpowder cast on a flame, cause them in mad desperation to scatter destruction around them. The barking' of the dog brought out from a kind of alley an elderly man, whom I sup- posed to be his master, and of whom I made some inquiries respecting the place. The man was civil, and informed me that he served as a soldier in the British army, under "the great lord," during the Peninsular war. He said that there was a convent of nuns a little further on, which he would show me, and there- upon led the way to the south-east part of the wall, where stood a large dilapidated edifice. We entered a dark stone apartment, at one corner of which was a kind of window occu- pied by a turning table, at which articles were received into the convent or delivered out. He rang the bell, and, without saying a word, retired, leaving me rather perplexed ; but presently I heard, though the speaker was in- visible, a soft feminine voice demanding who I was, and what I wanted. I replied that I was an Englishman travelling into Spain, and that passing through Monte Moro I had as- cended the hill for the purpose of seeing the ruins. The voice then said, " I suppose you are a military man going to fight against the king, like the rest of your countrymen." "No," said 1, "I am not a military man, but a Christian, and I go not to shed blood, but to endeavour to introduce the gospel of Christ into a country where it is not known ;" whereupon there was a stifled titter. I then inquired if there were any copies of the Holy Scriptures in the convent, but the friendly voice could give me no information on that point, and I scarce- ly believe that its possessor understood the purport of my question. It informed me, that the office of lady abbess of the house was an annual one, and that every year there was a fresh superior. On my inquiring whether the nuns did not frequently find the time exceed- ingly heavy on their hands, it stated that, when they had nothing better to do they em- ployed themselves in making cheesecakes, which were disposed of in the neighbour- hood. I thanked the voice for its communi- cations, and walked away. Whilst proceed- ing under the wall of the house towards the south-west, I heard a fresh and louder titter- ing above my head, and looking up, saw three or four windows crowded with dusky faces and black waving hair; these belonged to the nuns, anxious to obtain a view of the stranger. After kissing my hand repeatedly, I moved on, and soon arrived at the south-west end of this mountain of curiosities. There I found the remains of a large building, which seemed to have been originally erected in the shape of a cross. A tower at its eastern entrance was still entire; the western side was quite in ruins, and stood on the verge of the hill overlooking the valley at the bottom of which ran the stream I have spoken of on a former occasion. ! The day was intensely hot, notwithstand ing the coldness of the preceding nights ; and the brilliant sun of Portugal now illumined a landscape of entrancing beauty. Groves of cork trees covered the farther side of the valley and the distant acclivities, exhibiting here and there charming vistas, where various j flocks of cattle were feeding; the soft mur- mur of the stream, which was at intervals chafed and broken by huge stones, ascended to my ears and filled my mind with delicious feelings. I sat down on the broken wall, and remained gazing, and listening, and shedding tears of rapture; for, of all the pleasures which a bountiful God permitteth his children to enjoy, none are so dear to some hearts as the music of forests and streams, and the view of the beauties of his glorious creation. An hour elapsed, and I still maintained my seat on the wall; the past scenes of my Hfe flitting before my eyes in airy and fantastic array, through which every now and then peeped trees and hills and other patches of the real landscape which I was confronting ; the sun burned my visage, but I heeded it not; and I believe that I should have re- mained till night, buried in these reveries, which, I confess, only serve to enervate the mind, and steal many a minute which might be most profitably employed, had not the re- port of the gun of a fowler in the valley, which awakened the echoes of the woods, hills, and ruins, caused me to start on my feet, and remember that I had to proceed three leagues before I could reach the hostelry where I intended to pass the night. I bent my steps to the inn, passing along a kind of rampart; shortly before I reached the portal, which I have already mentioned, I observed a kind of vault on my right hand, scooped out of the side of the hill ; its roof was supported by three pillars, though part of it had given way towards the farther end, so that the light was admitted through a chasm in the top. It might have been in- tended for a chapel, a dungeon, or a cemetery, but I should rather think for the latter; one thing I am certain of, that it was not the work of Moorish hands, and indeed through- out my wandering in this place I saw nothing which reminded me of that most singular people. The hill on which the ruins stand was doubtless originally a strong fortress of the Moors, who, upon their first irruption into the peninsula, seized and fortified most of the lofty and naturally strong positions, but they had probably lost it at an early period, so that the broken walls and edifices, which at present cover the hill, are probably remains of the labours of the Christians after the place had been rescued from the bands of the terrible enemies of their faith. Monte Moro will perhaps recall Cintra to the mind of the traveller, as it exhibits a distant resemblance to that place ; nevertheless, there is something in Cintra wild and savage, to which Monte Moro has no pretension: its scathed and gigantic crags are piled upon each other in a manner which seems to menace THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 35 headlong destruction to whatever is in the neighbourhood; and the ruins which still cling to those crags seem more like eagles' nests than the remains of the habitations even of Moors; whereas those of Monte Moro stand comparatively at their ease on the broad back of a hill, which, though stately and commanding, has no crags nor precipices, and v.hich can be ascended on every side without much difficulty : yet I was much gratified by my visit, and I shall wander far indeed before 1 forget the voice in the dilapi- dated convent, the ruined walls amongst which I strayed, and the rampart, where, sunk in dreamy rapture, I sat during a bright sunny hour at Monte Moro. I returned to the inn, where I refreshed myself with tea and very sweet and delicious cheesecakes, the handiwork of the nuns in the convent above. Observing gloom and unhappiness on the countenances of the peo- ple of the house, I inquired the reason of the hostess, who sat almost motionless on the hearth by the fire ; whereupon she informed me that her husband was deadly sick with a j disorder which, from her description, I sup- I posed to be a species of cholera; she added, that the surgeon who attended him enter- tained no hopes of his recovery. I replied that it was quite in the power of God to restore her husband in a few hours from the verge of the grave to health and vigour, and that it was her duty to pray to that Omnipo- tent Being with all fervency. I added, that if she did not know how to pray upon such an occasion, I was ready to pray for her, provided she would join in the spirit of the supplication. 1 then offered up a short prayer in Portuguese, in which I entreated the Lord to remove, if he thought proper, the burden of affliction under which the family was labouring. The woman listened attentively, with her hands devoutly clasped, until the prayer was finished, and then gazed at me seemingly with astonishment, but uttered no word by which I could gather that, she was pleased or displeased with what I had said. I now bade the family farewell, and having mounted my mule, set forward to Arroyolos. CHAPTER VII. The Druids' Stone The Young Spaniard Ruffianly Soldiers Evils of War Estremoz The Brawl Ruined Watch- Tower Glimpse of Spain Old Times and New. AFTER proceeding about a league and a half, a blast came booming from the north, rolling before it immense clouds of dust; happily it did not blow in our faces, or it would have been difficult to proceed, so great was its violence. We had left the road in order to take advantage of one of those short cuts, which, though passable for a horse or a mule, are far too rough to permit any species of carriage to travel along them. We were in the midst of sands, brushwood, and huge pieces of rock, which thickly studded the ground. These are the stones which fonn the sierras of Spain and Portugal ; those sin- gular mountains which rise in naked horrid- ness, like the ribs of some mighty carcass from which the flesh has been torn. Many of these stones, or rocks, grew out of the earth, and many lay on its surface unattach- ed, perhaps wrested from their bed by the waters of the deluge. Whilst toiling along these wild wastes, I observed, a little way to my left, a pile of stones of rather a singular appearance, and rode up to it. It was a druidical altar, and the most perfect and beautiful one of the kind which I had ever seen. It was circular, and consisted of stones immensely large and heavy at the bottom, which towards the top became thinner and thinner, having been fashioned by the hand of art to something of the shape of scollop shells. These were surmounted by a very large flat stone, which slanted down towards individuals might have taken shelter within the interior, in which was growing a small thorn tree. I gazed wilh reverence and awe upon the pile w r here the first colonists of Europe offered their worship to the unknown God. The temples of the mighty and skilful Roman, comparatively of modern date, have crumbled to dust in its neighbourhood. The churches of the Arian Goth, his successor in power, have sunk beneath the earth, and are not to be found ; and the mosques of the Moor, the conqueror of the Goth, where and what are they 1 Upon the rock, masses of hoary and vanishing ruin. Not so the Druid's stone; there it stands on the hill of winds, as strong and as freshly new as the day, perhaps thirty centuries back, when it was first raised, by means which are a mystery. Earthquakes have heaved it, but its cope-stone has not fallen ; rain floods have deluged it, but failed to sweep it from its station ; the burning sun has flashed upon it, but neither split nor crumbled it; and time, stern old time, has rubbeu it with his iron tooth, and with what effect let those who view it declare. There it stands, and he who wishes to study the litera- ture, the learning, and the history of the na- cient Celt and Cymbrian, may gaze on its broad covering, and glean from that blank stone the whole known amount. The Roman has left behind him his deathless writings, his history, and his songs; the Goth his the south, where was a door. Three or four | liturgy, his traditions, and the germs of noble 36 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN". institutions; the Moor his chivalry, his dis- coveries in medicine, and the foundations of modern commerce ; and where is the memo- rial of the Druid ic races ? Yonder: that pile of eternal stone ! We arrived at Arroyolos about seven at night. I took possession of a large two- bedded room, and, as I was preparing to sit down to supper, the hostess came to inquire whether I had any objection to receive a young Spaniard for the night. She said he had just arrived with a train of muleteers, and that she had no other room in which she could lodge him. I replied that I was willing, and in about half an hour he made his appearance, having first supped with his companions. He was a very gentlemanly, good-looking lad of seventeen. He addressed me in his native language, and, finding that I under- stood him, he commenced talking with asto- nishing volubility. In the space of five minutes he informed me that, having a desire to see the world, he had run away from his friends, who were people of opulence at Madrid, and that he did not intend to return until he had travelled through various coun- tries. I told him that if what he said was true, he had done a very wicked and foolish action ; wicked, because he must have over- whelmed those with grief whom he was bound to honour and love, and foolish, inas- much as he was going to expose himself to inconceivable miseries and hardships, which would shortly cause him to rue the step he had taken ; that he would be only welcome in foreign countries so long as he had money to spend, and when he had none, he would be repulsed as a vagabond, and would per- haps be allowed to perish of hunger. He replied that he had a considerable sum of money with him, no less than a hundred dollars, which would last him a long time, and that when it was spent he should perhaps be able to obtain more. " Your hundred dol- lars," said I, " will scarcely last you three months in the country in which you are, even if it be not stolen from you ; and you may as well hope to gather money on the tops of the mountains as expect to procure more by ho- nourable means." But he had not yet suffi- ciently drank of the cup of experience to attend much to what I said, and I soon after changed the subject. About five next morn- ing he came to my bed-side to take leave, as his muleteers were preparing to depart. I gave him the usual Spanish valediction, ( Vaya usted con Dtos,) and saw no more of him. At nine, after having paid a most exorbitant snm for slight accommodation, I started from Arroyolos, which is a town or large village situated on very elevated ground, and discerni- ble afar off. It can boast of the remains of a large, ancient, and seemingly Moorish castle, which stands on a hill on the left as you take the road to Estremoz. About a mile from Arroyolos I overtook a train of carts, escorted by a number of Portu- guese soldiers, conveying stores and ammu- nition into Spain. Six or seven of these scl- diers marched a considerable way in front; they were villanous-looking ruffians, upon whose livid and ghastly countenances were written murder, and all the other crimes which the decalogue forbids. As I passed by, one of them, with a harsh, croaking voice, commenced cursingr all foreigners. "There," said he, " is this Frenchman riding on horse- back," (I was on a mule,) " with a man" (the idiot) "to take care of him, and all be- cause he is rich ; whilst I, who am a poor sol- dier, am obliged to tramp on foot. I could find it in my heart to shoot him dead, for in what respect is he better than I ? But he is a foreigner, and the devil helps foreigners and hates the Portuguese." He continued shout- ing his remarks" until I got about forty yards in advance, when I commenced laughing; but it would have been more prudent in me to have held my peace, for the next moment, with bang bang, two bullets, well aimed, came whizzing past my ears. A small river lay just before me, though the bridge was a considerable way on my left. I spurred my animal through it, closely followed by the ter- rified guide, and commenced galloping along a sandy plain on the other side, and so escaped with my life. These fellows, with the look of banditti, were in no respect better; and the traveller who should meet them in a solitary place would have little reason to bless his good fortune. One of the carriers, (all of whom were Spa- niards from the neighbourhood of Badajoz, and had been despatched into Portugal for the purpose of conveying the stores,) whom I af- terwards met in the aforesaid town, informed me that the whole party were equally bad, and that he and his companions had been plunder- ed by them of various articles, and threatened with death if they attempted to complain. How frightful to figure to oneself an army of such beings in a foreign land, sent thither either to invade or defend ; and yet Spain, at the time I am writing this, is looking forward to armed assistance from Portugal. May the Lord in his mercy grant that the soldiers who proceed to her assistance may be of a different stamp : and yet, from the lax state of discipline which exists in the Portuguese army, in comparison with that of England and France, I am afraid that the inoffensive population of the disturb- ed provinces will say that wolves have been summoned to chase away foxes from the sheep- fold. O ! may I live to see the day when soldiery will no longer be tolerated in any ci- vilized, or at least Christian, country! I pursued my route to Estremoz, passing by Monte Moro Novo, which is a tall, dusky hill, surmounted by an ancient edifice, probably Moorish. The country was dreary and de- serted, but offering here and there a valley studded with cork trees and azinheiras. After mid-day the wind, which during the night and morning had much abated, again blew with such violence as nearly to deprive me of my senses, though it was still in our rear. I was heartily glad when, on ascending a THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 37 rising ground, at about four o'clock, I saw Estremoz on its hill at something less than a league's distance. Here the view became wildly interesting ; the sun was sinking in the midst of red and stormy clouds, and its rays were reflected on the dun walls of the lofty town to which we were wending. Not far distant to the south-west rose Serra Dorso, which I had seen from Evora,and which is the most beautiful mountain in the Alemtejo. My idiot guide turned his uncouth visage towards it, and becoming suddenly inspired, opened his mouth for the first time during ihe day, I might almost say since we had left Aldea Gallega, and began to tell me what rare hunt- ing was to be obtained in that mountain. He likewise described with great minuteness a wonderful dog, which was kept in the neigh- bourhood for the purpose of catching the wolves and wild boars, and for which the pro- prietor had refused twenty rnoidores. At length we reached Estremoz, and took up our quarters at the principal inn, which looks upon a large plain or market-place oc- cupying the centre of the town, and which is so extensive that I should think ten thousand soldiers at least might perform their evolutions there with ease. The cold was far too terrible to permit me to remain in the chamber to which I had been conducted ; I therefore went down to a kind of kitchen on one side of the arched passage, which led under the house to the yard and stable. A tremendous withering blast poured through this passage, like the water through the flush of a mill. A large cork tree was blazing in the kitchen beneath a spa- cious chimney ; and around it were gathered a noisy crew of peasants and farmers from the neighbourhood, and three or four Spanish smugglers from the frontier. I with difficulty obtained a place amongst them, as a Portu- guese or a Spaniard will seldom make way for a stranger, till called upon or pushed aside, but prefers gazing upon him with an expres- sion which seems to say, I know what you want, but I prefer remaining where I am. I now first began to observe an alteration in the language spoken ; it had become less sibilant, and more guttural ; and, when ad- dressing each other, the speakers used the Spanish title of courtesy usted, or your worth- iness, instead of the Portuguese high flowing vossem se, or your lordship. This is the result of constant communication with the natives of Spain, who never condescend to speak Portuguese, even when in Portugal, but per- sist in the use of their own beautiful lan- guage, which, perhaps, at some future period, the Portuguese will generally adopt. This would greatly facilitate the union of the two countries, hitherto kept asunder by the natural waywardness of mankind. I had not been seated long before the blaz- ing pile, when a fellow, mounted on a fine spirited horse, dashed from the stables through the passage into the kitchen, where he com- menced displaying his horsemanship, by causing the animal to wheel about with the velocity of a mill-stone, to the great danger of everybody in the apartment. He then galloped out upon the plain, and after half an hour's absence returned, and having placed his horse once more in the stable, came and seated himself next to me, to whom he com- menced talking in a gibberish of which I understood very little, but which he intended for French. He was half intoxicated, and soon became three parts so, by swallowing glass after glass of aguardiente. Finding that I made him no answer, he directed his discourse to one of the contrabandistas, to whom he talked in bad Spanish. The latter either did not or would not understand him; but at last, losing patience, called him a drunkard, and told him to hold his tongue. The fellow, enraged at this contempt, flung the glass out of which he was drinking at the Spaniard's head, who sprang up like a tiger, and unsheathing instantly a snick and snee knife, made an upward cut at the fellow's cheek, and would have infallibly laid it open, had I not pulled his arm down just in time to prevent worse effects than a scratch above the lower jawbone, which, however, drew blood. The smuggler's companions interfered, and with much difficulty led him off to a small apartment in the rear of the house, where they slept, and kept the furniture of their mules. The drunkard then commenced sing- ing, or rather yelling, the Marseillois hymn; and after having annoyed every one for nearly an hour, was persuaded to mount his horse and depart, accompanied by one of his neigh- bours. He was a pig merchant of the vicini- ty ; but had formerly been a trooper in the army of Napoleon, where, I suppose, like the drunken coachman of Evora, he had picked up his French and his habits of intoxication. From Estremoz to Elvas the distance is six leagues. I started at nine next morning; the first part of the way lay through an enclosed country, but we soon emerged upon wild bleak downs, over which the wind, which still pur- sued us, howled most mournfully. We met no one on the route; and the scene was deso- late in the extreme; the heaven was of a dark gray, through which no glimpse of the sun was to be perceived. Before us, at a great distance, on an elevated ground, rose a tower the only object which broke the monotony of the waste. In about two hours from the time when we first discovered it, we reached a fountain, at the foot of the hill on which it stood ; the water, which gushed into a long stone trough, was beautifully clear and transpa* rent, and we stopped here to water the animals. Having dismounted, I left the guide, and proceeded to ascend the hill on which the tower stood. Though the ascent was very gentle, I did not accomplish it without difficulty; the ground was covered with sharp stones, which, in two or three instances, cut through my boots and wounded my feet; and the distance was much greater than I had expected. 1 at last arrived at the ruin, for such it was. I found it had been one of those watch-towere or small fortresses called in Portuguese ata- D 38 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. } it was square, and surrounded by a wall, broken down in many places. The tower it- self had no door, the lower part being of solid stone work ; but on one side were crevices at intervals between the stones, for the purpose of placing the feet, and up this rude staircase I climbed to a small apartment, about five feet square, from which the top had fallen. It commanded an extensive view from all sides, and had evidently been built for the accommo- dation of those whose business it was to keep watch on the frontier, and at the appearance of an enemy to alarm the country by signals probably by a fire. Resolute men might have defended themselves in this little fast- ness against many assailants, who must have been completely exposed to their arrows or musketry, in the ascent. Being about to leave the place, I heard a strange cry behind a part of the wall which I had not visited, and hastening thither, I found a miserable object in rags, seated upon a stone. It was a maniac a man about thirty years of age, and I believe deaf and dumb; there he sat, gibbering and mowing, and dis- torting his wild features into various dreadful appearances. There wanted nothing but this object to render the scene complete ; banditti amongst such melancholy desolation would have been by no means so much in keeping. But the maniac, on his stone, in the rear of the wind-beaten ruin overlooking the blasted heath, above which scowled the leaden heaven, presented such a picture of gloom and misery as I believe neither painter nor poet ever con- ceived in the saddest of their musings. This is not the first instance in which it has been my lot to verify the wisdom of the saying, that truth is sometimes wilder than fiction. I remounted my mule, and proceeded till, on the top of another hill, my guide suddenly exclaimed, "There is Elvas." I looked in the direction in which he pointed, and beheld a town perched on the top of a lofty hill. On | the other side of a deep valley towards the j left rose another hill, much higher, on the top | of which is the celebrated fort of Elvas, be- lieved to be the strongest place in Portugal. Through the opening between the fort and the town, but in the background and far in Spain, I discerned the misty sides and cloudy head of a stately mountain, which I afterwards learned was Albuquerque, one of the loftiest of Estremadura. We now got into a cultivated country, and following the road, which wound amongst hedge-rows, we arrived at a place where the ground began gradually to shelve down. Here, on the right, was the commencement of an aqueduct by means of which the town on the opposite hill was supplied; it was at this point scarcely two feet in altitude, but, as we descended, it became higher and higher, and its proportions more colossal. Near the bottom of the valley it took a turn to the left, bestriding the road with one of its arches. I looked up, after passing under it; the water must have been flowing near a hundred feet above my head, and I was filled with wonder at the immensity of the structure which con- veyed it. There was, however, one feature which was no slight drawback to its preten- sions to grandeur and magnificence; the wa- ter was supported not by gigantic single arch- es, like those of the aqueduct of Lisbon, which stalk over the valley like legs of Titans, but by three layers of arches, which, like three distinct aqueducts, rise above each other. The expense and labour necessary for the erection of such a structure must have been enormous; and, when we reflect with what comparative ease modern art would confer the same ad vantage, we cannot help congratulating our- selves that we live in times when it is not ne- cessary to exhaust the wealth of a province to supply a town on a hill with one of the first necessaries of existence. CHAPTER VIII. Elvas Extraordinary Longevity The English Nation Portuguese Ingratitude Illiberality Fortifications Spanish Beggar Badajoz The Custom House. ARRIVED at the gate of Elvas, an officer came out of a kind of guard-house, and, having asked me some questions, despatched a sol- dier with me to the police office, that my passport might be viseed, as upon the frontier they are much more particular with respect to passports than in other parts. This matter having been settled,! entered an hostelry near the same gate, which had been recommended to me by my host at Vendas Novas, and which was kept by a person of the name of Joze Rosado. It was the best in the town, though, for convenience and accommodation, inferior to a hedge alehouse in England. The cold still pursued me, and I was glad to take refuge in an inner kitchen, which, when the door was not open, was only lighted by a fire burning somewhat dimly on the hearth. An elderly female sat beside it in her chair, telling her beads : there was something singular and extraordinary in her look, as well as I could discern by the imperfect light of the apartment. I put a few unimportant questions to her, to which she replied, but seemed to be afflict- ed to a slight degree with deafness. Hei hair was becoming gray, and I said that 1 believed she was older than myself, but that I was confident she had less snow on her head. "How old may you be, cavalier?" said THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 39 she, giving me that title which in Spain is generally used when an extraordinary degree of respect is wished to oe exhibited. I an- swered that I was near thirty. " Then," said she, "your were right in supposing that I am older than yourself; I am older than your mother, or your mother's mother : it is more than a hundred years since I was a girl, and sported with the daughters of the town on the hill side." "In that case," said I, "you doubtless remember the earthquake." " Yes," she replied, " if there is any occurrence in my life that I remember, it is that; I was in the church of Elvas at the moment, hearing the. mass of the king, and the priest fell on the ground, and let fall the Host from his hands. I shall never forget how the earth shook; it made us all sick ; and the houses and walls reeled like drunkards. Since that happened I have seen fourscore years pass by me, yet I was older then than you are now." I looked with wonder at this surprising fe- male, and could scarcely believe her words. I was, however, assured that she was in fact upwards of a hundred and ten years of age, and was considered the oldest person in Por- tugal. She still retained the use of her facul- ties in as full a degree as the generality of people who have scarcely attained the half of her age. She was related to the people of the house. As the night advanced, several persons en- tered for the purpose of enjoying the comfort of the fire and for the sake of conversation, for the house was a kind of newsroom, where the principal speaker was the host, a man of some shrewdness and experience, who had served as a soldier in the British army. Amongst others was the officer who commanded at the gate. After a few observations, this gentle- man, who was a good-looking young man of five-and-twenty, began to burst forth in vio- lent declamation against the English nation and government, who, he said, had at all times proved themselves selfish and deceitful, but that their present conduct in respect to Spain was particularly infamous, for though it was in their power to put an end to the war at once, by sending a large army thither, they preferred sending a handful of troops, in order that the war might be prolonged, for no other reason than that it was of advantage to them. Having paid him an ironical compliment for his politeness and urbanity, 1 asked whether lie reckoned amongst the selfish actions of the English government and nation, their having expended hundreds of millions of pounds ster- ling, and an ocean of precious blood, in fight- ing the battles of Spain and Portugal against Napoleon. "Surely," said I, "the fort of Elvas above our heads, and still more the cas- tle of Badajoz over the water, speak volumes respecting English selfishness, and must, every time you view them, confirm you in the opinion which you have just expressed. And then, with respect to the present combat in Spain, the gratitude which that country evinced to England after the French, by means of English armies, had been expelled, gratitude evinced by discouraging the trade of England on all occasions, and by offering up masses in thanksgiving when the English heretics quit- ted the Spanish shores, ought now to induce England to exhaust and ruin herself, for the sake of hunting Don Carlos out of his moun- tains. In deference to your superior judg- ment," continued I to the officer, "I will en- deavour to believe that it would be for the ad- vantage of England were the war prolonged for an indefinite period ; nevertheless, you would do rne a particular favour by explaining by what process in chemistry blood shed in Spain will find its way into the English trea- sury in the shape of gold." As he was not ready with his answer, I took up a plate of fruit which stood on a table beside me, and said, " What do you call these fruits 1" " Pomegranates and bolotas," he re- plied. " Right," said I ; "a home-bred Eng- lishman could not have given me that answer; yet he is as much acquainted with pomegra- nates and bolotas as your lordship is with the line of conduct which it is incumbent upon England to pursue in her foreign and domes- tic policy." This answer of mine, I confess, was not that of a Christian, and proved to me how much of the leaven of the ancient man still pervaded me ; yet I must be permitted to add, that I believe no other provocation would have elicited from me a reply so full of angry feel- ing, but I could not command myself when I heard my own glorious land traduced in this unmerited manner. By whom 1 ? A Portu- guese ! a native of a country which has been twice liberated from horrid and detestable thraldom by the hands of Englishmen. But for Wellington and his heroes, Portugal would have been French at this day ; but for Napier and his mariners, Miguel would now be lord- ing it in Lisbon. To return, however, to the officer; every one laughed at him, and he pre- sently went away. The next day I became acquainted with a respectable tradesman of the name of Almeida, a man of talent, though rather rough in his manners. He expressed great abhorrence of the papal system, which had so long spread a darkness like that of death over his unfortu- nate country ; ana I had no sooner informed him that I had brought with me a certain quantity of Testaments, which it was my in- tention to leave for sale at Elvas, than he ex- pressed a great desire to undertake the charge, and said that he would do the utmost in his power to procure a sale for them amongst his numerous customers. Upon showing him a copy, I remarked, Your name is upon the title-page; the Portuguese version of the Holy Scriptures, circulated by the Bible Society, having been executed by a Protestant of the name of Almeida, and first published in the year 1712; whereupon he smiled, and observed that he esteemed it an honour to be connected in name at least with such a man. He scoffed at the idea of receiving any remuneration, and assured me that the feel ing of being permitted to co-operate in so holy and useful a cause as 40 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. the circulation of the Scriptures was quite a sufficient reward. After having accomplished this matter, 1 proceeded to survey the environs of the place, and strolled up the hill to the fort on the north side of the town. The lower part of the hill is planted with azinheiras, which give it a picturesque appearance, and at the bottom is a small brook, which I crossed by means of stepping-stones. Arrived at the gate of the fort, I was stopped by the sentry, who, how- ever, civilly told me, that if I sent in my name to the commanding officer, he would make no objection to my visiting the interior. I accord- ingly sent in my card by a soldier who was lounging about, and, sitting down on a stone, waited his return. He presently appeared, and inquired whether I was an Englishman; to which having replied in the affirmative, he said, " In that case, sir, you cannot enter; in- deed, it is not the custom to permit any fo- reigners to visit the fort." 1 answered that it was perfectly indifferent to me whether I visited it or not; and, having taken a survey of Badajoz from the eastern side of the hill, descended by the way I came. This is one of the beneficial results of pro- tecting a nation, and squandering blood and treasure in its defence. The English, who have never been at war with Portugal, who have fought for its independence on land and sea, and always with success, who have forced themselves by a treaty of commerce to drink its coarse and filthy wines, which no other nation cares to taste, are the most unpopular people who visit Portugal. The French have ravaged the country with fire and sword, and shed the blood of its sons like water; the French buy not its fruits, and loathe its wines, yet there is no bad spirit in Portugal towards the French. The reason of this is no mystery ; it is the nature, not of the Portuguese only, but of corrupt and unregenerate man, to dis- like his benefactors, who, by conferring bene- fits upon him, mortify it\ the most generous manner his miserable vanity. There is no country in which the English are so popular as in France; but, though the French have been frequently roughly handled by the English, and have seen their capital occupied by an English army, they have never been subjected to the supposed ignominy of receiving assistance from them. The fortifications of Elvas are models of their kind, and, at the first view, it would seem that the town, if well garrisoned, might bid defiance to any hostile power; but it has its weak point: the western side is commanded by a hill, at the distance of half a mile, from which an experienced general would cannon- ade it, and probably with success. It is the last town in this part of Portugal, the distance to the Spanish frontier being barely two leagues. It was evidently built as a rival to Badajoz, upon which it looks down from its height across a sandy plain and over the sul- len waters of the Guadiana; but, though a strong town, it can scarcely be called a defence to the frontier, which is open on all sides, so that there would not be the slightest necessity 'or an invading army to approach within a dozen leagues of its walls, should it be dis- aosed to avoid them. Its fortifications are so extensive, that ten thousand men at least would be required to man them, who, in the event of an invasion, might be far better em- ployed in meeting the enemy in the open field. The French, during their occupation of Portu- gal, kept a small force in this place, who, at the approach of the British, retreated to the fort, where they shortly after capitulated. Having nothing farther to detain me at Elvas, I proceeded to cross the frontier into Spain. My idiot guide was on his way back to Aldea Gallega; and, on the fifth of January, I mounted a sorry mule without bridle or stir- rups, which 1 guided by a species of halter: and, followed by a lad who was to attend me on another, I spurred down the hill of Elvas to the plain, eager to arrive in old, chivalrous, romantic Spain. But I soon found that I had no need to quicken the beast which bore me; for, though covered with sores, wall-eyed, and with a kind of halt in its gait, it cantered along like the wind. In little more than half an hour we arrived at a brook, whose waters ran vigorously be- tween steep banks. A man who was stand- ing on the side directed rne to the ford in the squeaking dialect of Portugal; but whilst I was yet splashing through the water, a voice from the other bank hailed me, in the magni- ficent language of Spain, in this guise: "0 Senor Caballfro, que me de uxted una limosna par amor de Dios, una limosnUa para qur iu me compre un traguillu de vino Unto." (Charity, Sir Cavalier, for the love of God. bestow an alms upon me, that I may purchase a mouth- ful of red wine.) In a moment I was on Spa- nish ground, as the brook, which is called Acaia, is the boundary here of the two king- doms, and having flung the beggar a small piece of silver, I cried in ecstasy, "Santiago y cierra Espaha .'" and scoured on my way with more speed than before, paying, as Gil Bias says, little heed to the torrent of bless- ings which the mendicant poured forth in my rear: yet never was charity more unwisely bestowed, for I was subsequently informed that the fellow was a confirmed drunkard, who took his station every morning at the ford, where he remained the whole day for the purpose of extorting money from the pas- sengers, which he regularly spent every night in the wine-shops of Badajoz. To those who gave him money he returned blessings, and to those who refused, curses; being equally skilled and fluent in the use of either. Badajoz was now in view, at the distance of little more than half a league. We soon took a turn to the left, towards a bridge of many arches across the Guadiana, which, though so famed in song and ballad, is a very unpicturesque stream, shallow and sluggish, though tolerably wide; its banks were white with linen which the washerwomen had spread out to dry in the sun, which was shin- ing brightly ; 1 heard their singing at a great THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 41 distance, and the theme seemed to be the praises of the river where they were toiling, for as I approached I could distinguish Gua- diana, Guadiana, which reverberated far and wide, pronounced by the clear and strong voices in chorus of many a dark-cheeked maid and matron. I thought there was some analogy between their employment and my own: I was about to tan my northern com- plexion by exposing myself to the hot sun of Spain, in the humble hope of being able to cleanse some of the foul stains of Popery from the minds of its children, with whom I had little acquaintance, whilst they were bronzing themselves on the banks of the river in order to make white the garments of strangers : the words of an Eastern poet re- turned forcibly to my mind : "I'll weary myself each night and each day, To aid my unfortunate brothers: As the laundress tans her own face in the ray, To cleanse the garments of others." Having crossed the bridge, we arrived at the northern gate, when out rushed from a species of sentry-box a fellow wearing on his head a high-peaked Andalusian hat, with his figure wrapped up in one of those immense cloaks so well known to those who have tra- velled in Spain, and which none but a Spa- niard can wear in a becoming manner: without saying a word, he laid hold of the halter of the mule, and began to lead it through the gate up a dirty street, crowded with long- cloaked people like himself. I asked him what he meant, but he deigned not to return an answer, the boy, however, who waited upon me said that it was one of the gate- keepers, and that he was conducting us to the Custom House or Alfandega, where the bag- gage would be examined. Having arrived there, the fellow, who still maintained a dog- ged silence, began to pull the trunks off the sumpter mule, and commenced uncording them. I was about to give him a severe re- proof for his brutality, but before I could open my mouth a stout elderly personage appeared at the door, who I soon found was the princi- pal officer. He looked at me for a moment, and then asked me, in the English language* if I was an Englishman. On my replying in the affirmative, he demanded of the fellow how he dared to have the insolence to touch the baggage without orders, and sternly bade him cord up the trunks again and place them on the mule, which he performed without uttering a word. The gentleman then asked what the trunks contained : I answered clothes and linen; when he begged pardon for the insolence of the subordinate, and informed him that I was at liberty to proceed where I thought proper. I thanked him for his ex- ceeding politeness, and, under guidance of the boy, made the best of my way to the Inn of the Three Nations, to which I had been re- commended at Elvas. CHAPTER IX. Badajoz Antonio the Gipsy Antonio's Proposal The Proposal accepted Gipsy Breakfast De- parture from Badajoz The Gipsy Donkey Merida The ruined Wall The Crone The Land of the Moor The Black Men Life in the Desert The Supper. I WAS now at Badajoz in Spain, a country which for the next four years was destined to be the scene of my labours: but I will not anticipate. The neighbourhood of Badajoz did not prepossess me much in favour of the country which I had just entered ; it consists chiefly of brown moors, which bear little but a species of brushwood, called in Spanish car- rasco , blue mountains are, however, seen tow- ering up in the far distance, which relieve the scene from the monotony which would other- wise pervade it. It was at this town of Badajoz, the capital of Kstremadura, that I first fell in with those singular people, the Zincali, Gitanos, or Spa- nish gipsies. It was here I met with the wild Paco, the man with the withered arm, who wielded the cachas (shears') with his left hand ; his shrewd wife, Antonia, skilled in hokkano baro, or the great trick ; the fierce gipsy, An- tonio Lopez, their father-in-law ; and many other almost equally singular individuals of the Errate, or gipsy blood. It was here that I first preached the gospel to the gipsy peo- ple, and commenced that translation of the New Testament in the Spanish gipsy tongue, a portion of which I subsequently printed at Madrid. After a stay of three weeks at Badajoz, I prepared to depart for Madrid ; late one after- noon, as I was arranging my scanty baggage, the gipsy Antonio entered my apartment, dressed in his zamarra and high-peaked An- dalusian hat. Jlnlonio. Good evening, brother; they tell me that on the callicaste (day after to~morrow} you intend to set out for Madnlati. Myself. Such is my intention ; I can stay here no longer. Jlntonio. The way is far to Madrilati : there are, moreover, wars in the land, and many chories (thieves') walk about; are you not afraid to journey 1 Myself. I have no fears ; every man must accomplish his destiny : what befalls my body or soul was written in a gabicote (book) a thousand years before the foundation of the world. Jlntonio. I have no fears myself, brother ; the dark night is the same to me as the fair day, and the wild carrascal as the market place or the chardy (fair) ; I have got the bar D 2 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. Jaehi in my bosom, the precious stone to which sticks the needle. Myseif. You mean the loadstone, I sup- pose. Do you believe that a lifeless stone can preserve you from the dangers which oc- casionally threaten your life '? Antonio. Brother, I am fifty years old, and you see me standing before you in life and strength : how could that be unless the bar lachi had power 1 ? I have been soldier and contrabandista, and I have likewise slain and robbed the Busne. The bullets of the Gabine (French} and of the jara canallis (revenue officers) have hissed about my ears without injuring me, for I carried the bar lachi. I have twenty limes done that which by Bus- nee law should have brought me to the fili- micha (gallows'), yet my neck has never yet been squeezed by the cold garrote. Brother, I trust in the bar lachi, like the Galore of old : were I in the midst of the gulf of Bombardo (Lyons], without a plank to float upon, I should feel no fear ; for, if I carried the pre- cious stone, it would bring me safe to shore : the bar lachi has power, brother. Myself. I shall not dispute the matter with you, mere especially as I am about to depart from Badajoz: I must speedily bid you fare- well, and we shall see each other no more. Antonio. Brother,do you know what brings me hither? Myself. I cannot tell, unless it be to wish me a happy journey : I am not gipsy enough to interpret the thoughts of other people. Antonio. All last night I lay awake, think- ing of the affairs of Egypt; and when I arose in the morning I took the bar lachi from my bosom, and scraping it with a knife, swal- lowed some of the dust in aguardiente, as I am in the habit of doing when I have made up my mind; and I said to myself, I am wanted on the frontiers of Castumba (Castilt] on a certain matter. The strange Caloro is about to proceed to Madrilati ; the journey is long, and he may fall into evil hands, perad- venture into those of his own blood; for let me tell you, brother, the Gales are leaving their towns and villages, and forming them- selves into troops to plunder the Busne, for there is now but little law in the land, and now or never is the time for the Galore to become once more what they were in former times ; so I said, the strange Caloro may fall into the hands of his own blood and be ill- treated by them, which were shame: I will therefore go with him through the Chim del Manro (Eslrerr.aduru] as far as the frontiers of Castumba, and upon the frontiers of Cas- tumba I will leave the London Caloro to find his own way to Madrilati, for there is less danger in Castumba, than in the Chim del Manro, and I will then betake me to the af- fairs of Egypt which call me from hence. Myself. This is a very hopeful plan of yours, my friend ; and in what manner do you propose that we shall travel ? Antonio. I will tell you, brother; I have a gras in the stall, even the one which I pur- chased at Olivencas, as I told you on a former 'occasion; it is good and Meet, and cost me, j who am a gipsy, fifty chule (dollars') ; upon ' that gras you shall ride. As for myself, I will journey upon the rnacho. Myself. Before 1 answer you, I shall wish ! you to inform me what business it is which : renders your presence necessary in Castumba; your son-in-law, Paco, told me that it was no ' longer the custom of the gipsies to wander. Antonio. It is an affair of Egypt, brother, ! and I shall not acquaint you with it ; perad- 1 venture it relates to a horse or an ass, or per- adventure it relates to a mule or a macho ; it . does not relate to yourself, therefore I advise j you not to inquire about it. Dosta (enough']. I With respect to ray offer, you are free to de- cline it ; there is a drungrtije (royal road] be- tween here and Madrilnti, and you can travel it in the birdoche (at age-coach] or with the dromile (muleteers] ; but 1 tell you, as a bro- ther, that there are chories upon the. drun, and j some of them are of the Errate. Certainly few people in my situation would have accepted the offer of this singular gip- sy. It was not, however, without its allure- ments for me; I was fond of adventure, and what more ready means of gratifying my love of it than by putting myself under the hands of such a guide. There are many who would have been afraid of treachery, but 1 had no fears on this point, as I did not believe that the fellow harboured the slightest ill inter.tion towards me ; I saw that he was fully con- vinced that I was one of the Errate, and his affection for his own race, and his hatred for the Busne, were his strongest characteristics. I wished, moreover, to lay hold of every op- portunity of making myself acquainted with the ways of the Spanish gipsies, and an ex- cellent one here presented itself on my first entrance into Spain. In a word I determined to accompany the gipsy. " I will go with you," I exclaimed ; " as for my baggage, I will despatch it to Madrid by the birdoche." " Do so, brother," he replied, " and the gras will go lighter. Baggage, indeed ! what need of baggage have you] How the Busne on the road would laugh if they saw two Cales with baggage behind them." During my stay at Badajoz, I had but little intercourse with the Spaniards, my time being chiefly devoted to the gipsies, with whom, from long intercourse with various sections of their race in different parts of the world, I felt myself much more at home than with the silent, reserved men of Spain, with, whom a foreigner might mingle for half a century without having half a dozen words addressed to him, unless he himself made the first advances to intimacy, which, after all, might be rejected with a shrug and a no in- tendo ; for, among the many deeply rooted prejudices of these people, is the strange idea that no foreigner can speak their lan- guage; an idea to which they still cling though they hear him conversing with perfect ease ; for in that case the utmost that they will concede to his attainments is, Habla quatro polabras y nada mas. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 43 Early one morning, before sunrise, I found myself at the house of Antonio ; it was a small mean building, situated in a dirty street. The morning was quite dark ; the street, how- ever, was partially illumined by a heap of lighted straw, round which two or three men were busily engaged, apparently holding an object over the flames. Presently the gipsy's door opened, and Antonio made his appear- ance ; and, casting his eye in the direction of the light, exclaimed, " The swine have killed their brother; would that every Busno was served as yonder hog is. Come in, bro- ther, and we will eat the heart of that hog." I scarcely understood his words, but, follow- ing him, he led me into a low room in which was a brasero, or small pan full of lighted charcoal ; beside it was a rude table, spread with a coarse linen cloth, upon which was bread and a large pipkin full of a mess which emitted no disagreeable savour. "The heart of the balichow is in that puchera," said An- tonio ; " eat, brother." We both sat down and ate, Antonio voraciously. When we had concluded he arose : " Have you got your /t?" he demanded. "Here it is," said I, showing him my passport. "Good," said he, "you may want it; I want none, my pass- port is the bar lachi. Now for a glass of re- pani, and then for the road." W T e left the room, the door of which he locked, hiding the key beneath a loose brick in a corner of the passage. " Go into the street, brother, whilst I fetch the caballerias from the stable." I obeyed him. The sun had not j r et risen, and the air was piercingly cold ; the gray light, however, of dawn ena- bled me to distinguish objects with tolerable accuracy ; I soon heard the clattering of the animal's feet, and Antonio presently stepped forth leading the horse by the bridle ; the ma- cho followed behind. I looked at the horse and shrugged my shoulders : as far as I could scan it, it appeared the most uncouth animal I had ever beheld. It was of a spectral white, short in the body, but with remarka- bly long legs. I observed that it was par- ticularly high in the eruz or withers. " You are looking at the grasti," said Antonia ; " it is eighteen years old, but it is the very best in the Chim del Manro; I have long had my eye upon it ; I bought it for my own use for the affairs of Egypt. Mount, brother, mount and let us leave the foros the gate is about being opened." He locked the door, and deposited the key in his faja. In less than a quarter of an hour we had left the town behind us. " This does not appear to be a very good horse," said I to Antonio, as we proceeded over the plain. "It is with difficulty that I can make him move." " He is the swiftest horse in the Chim del Manro, brother," said Antonio; "at the gal- lop and at the speedy trot there is no one to match him ; but he is eighteen years old, and his joints are stiff, especially of a morning; but let him once become heated, and the ge- nio del viejo (spirit of the old man") comes upon him and there is no holding him in with bit or bridle. 1 bought that horse for the af- fairs of Egypt, brother." About noon we arrived at a small village in the neighbourhood of a high lumpy hill. " There is no Calo house in this place," said Antonio ; " we will therefore go to the posada of the Busne, and refresh ourselves, man and beast." We entered the kitchen and sat down at the board, calling for wine and bread. There were two ill-looking fellows in the kitchen, smoking cigars ; I said something to Antonio in the Calo language. "What is that I hear?" said one of the fellows, who was distinguished by an im- mense pair of mustaches. " What is that I hear? is it in Calo that you are speaking be- fore me, and I a Chalan and national ? Ac- cursed gipsy, how dare you enter this posada and speak before me in that speech? Is it not forbidden by the law of the land in which we are, even as it is forbidden for a gipsy to enter the mercado? I will tell you what, friend, if I hear another word of Calo come from your mouth, I will cudgel your bones and send you flying over the house-tops with a kick of my foot." " You would do right," said his companion ; " the insolence of these gipsies is no longer to be borne. When I am at Merida or Bada- joz I go to the mercado, and there in a corner stand the accursed gipsies jabbering to each other in a speech which I understand not. ' Gipsy gentleman,' say I to one of them, ' what will you have for that donkey ?' * I will have ten dollars for -it, Cabellero na- cional,' says the gipsy; 'it is the best don- key in all Spain.' ' I should like to see its paces,' say I. 'That you shall, most valo- rous !' says the gipsy, and jumping upon its back, he puts it to its paces, first of all whis- pering something into its ear in Calo, and truly the paces of the donkey are most won- derful, such as I have never seen before. * I think it will just suit me,' and after looking 1 at it awhile, I take out the money and pay for it. ' I shall go to my house,' says the gip- sy ; and off he runs. ' I shall go to my village,' say I, and I mount the donkey. ' Vamonos,' say I, but the donkey won't move. I give him a switch, but I don't get on the better for that. ' How is this ?' say I, and I fall to spurring him. What happens then, brother I The wizard no socner feels the prick than he bucks down, and flings me over his head into the fango. I get up and look about me; there stands the donkey, staring at me, and there stands the whole gipsy canaille squint- ing at me with their filmy eyes. ' Where is the scamp who has sold me this piece of fur- niture?' I shout. 'He is gone to Granada, Valorous,' says one. ' He is gone to see his kindred among the Moors,' says another. ' 1 just saw him running over the field in the direction of , with the devil close behind him,' says a third. In a word, I am tricked. I wish to dispose of the donkey; no one, however, will buy him ; he is a Calo donkey, and every person avoids him. At Jast the 44 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. gipsies offer thirty rials for him; and after much chaffering I am glad to get rid of him at two dollars. It is all a trick, however; he returns to his master, and the brotherhood share the spoil amongst them. All which villany would be prevented, in my opinion, were the Calo language not spoken ; for what but the word of Calo could have induced the donkey to behave in such an unaccounta- ble manner]" Both seemed perfectly satisfied with the justness of this conclusion, and continued smoking till their cigars were burnt to stumps, when they arose, twitched their whiskers, looked at us with fierce disdain, and dashing the tobacco-ends to the ground, strode out of the apartment. "Those people seem no friends to the gip- sies," said I to Antonio, when the two bullies had departed, "nor to the Calo language either." " May evil glanders seize their nostrils," said Antonio; "they have been jonjabadoed by our people. However, brother, you did wrong to speak to me in Calo, in a posada like this ; it is a forbidden language ; for, as I have often told you, the king has destroyed the law of the Gales. Let us away, brother, or those juntunes (sneaking scoundrels') may set the justicia upon us." Towards evening we drew near to a large town or village. "That is Merida," said Antonia, "formerly, as the Busne say, a mighty city of the Corohai. We shall stay here to-night, and perhaps for a day or two, for I have some business of Egypt to transact in this place. Now, brother, step aside with the horse, and wait for me beneath yonder wall. I must go before and see in what con- dition matters stand." I dismounted from the horse, and sat down on a stone beneath the ruined wall to which Antonio had motioned me; the sun went down, and the air was exceedingly keen ; I drew close around me an old tattered gipsy cloak with which my companion had provided me, and being somewhat fatigued, fell into a doze which lasted for nearly an hour. "Is your worship the London Caloro?" said a strange voice close beside me. I started, and beheld the face of a woman peering under my hat. Notwithstanding the dusk, I could see that the features were hide- ously ugly and almost black ; they belonged, in fact, to a gipsy crone, at least seventy years of age, leaning upon a staff. "Is your worship the London Caloro?" repeated she. "I am he whom you seek," said I; "where is Antonio 1 ?" "Cure/an'/o, curelando, baribuslres cure/as terela,"* said the crone : " come with me, Ca- loro of my garlochin, come with me to my little ker, he will be there anon." I followed the crone, who led the way into the town, which was ruinous and seemingly * Doing business, doing business he has much business to do. half deserted ; we went up the street, from which she turned into a narrow and dark lane, and presently opened the gate of a large dilapidated house : " Come in," said she. "And the grasl" I demanded. " Bring the gras in too, my chabo, bring the gras in too ; there is room for the gras in my little stable." We entered a large court, across which we proceeded till we came to a wide door-way. " Go in, my child of Egypt," said the hag; "go in, that is my little stable." " The place is as dark as pitch," 'said I, " and may be a well, for what I know ; bring a light or I will not enter." "Give me the solabarri (bridle}," said the hag, " and I will lead your horse in, my cha- bo of Egypt, yes, and tether him to my little manger." She led the horse through the doorway, and I heard her busy in the dark- ness; presently the horse shook himself: " Grasti terelamos," said the hag, who now made her appearance with the bridle in her hand ; " the horse has shaken himself, he is not harmed by his day's journey ; now let us go in, my Caloro, into my little room." We entered the house and found ourselves in a vast room, which would have been quite dark but for a faint glow which appeared at the farther end ; it proceeded from a brasero, beside which were squatted two dusky figures. " These are Callees," said the hag; "one is my daughter, and the other is her chabi ; sit down, my London Caloro, and let us hear you speak." I looked about for a chair, but could see none; at a short distance, however, I per- ceived the end of a broken pillar lying on the floor; this I rolled to the brasero and sat down upon it. "This is a fine house, mother of the gip- sies," said I, to the hag, willing to gratify the desire she had expressed of hearing me speak ; " a fine house is this of yours, rather cold and damp, though ; it appears large enough to be a barrack for hundunares." " Plenty of houses in this foros, plenty of houses in Merida, my London Caloro, some of them just as they were left by the Cora- hanoes; ah, a fine people are the Coraha- noes ; I often wish myself in their chim once more." " How is this, mother," said I, " have you been in the land of the Moors'?" "Twice have I been in their country, my Caloro, twice have I been in the land of the Corahai; the first time is more than fifty years ago. I was then with the Sese (Spa- niard*), for my husband was a soldier of the Crallis of Spain, and Oran at that time be- longed to Spain." " You were not then with the real Moors," said I, " but only with the Spaniards who occupied part of their country." " I have been with the real Moors, my Lon- don Caloro. Who knows more of the real Moors than myself? About forty years ago, I was with my ro in Ceuta, for he was still a THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 45 soldier of the king, and he said to me, one day, ' I am tired of this place, where there is no bread and less water, I will escape and turn Corahano; this night I will kill my ser- geant and flee to the camp of the Moor.' ' Do so,' said I, 'my chabo, and soon as may be I will follow you and become a Corahani. That same night he killed his sergeant, who five years before had called him Calo and cursed him, then running to the wall he dropped from it, and amidst many shots he escaped to the land of the Corahai; as for myself, I remained in the presidio of Ceuta as a sutler selling wine and repani to the hundunares. Two years passed by and I neither saw nor heard from my ro ; one day there came a strange man to my cachimani (wine shop'], he was dressed like a Corahano and yet he did not look like one, he looked more like a callardo (black), and yet he was not a collardo either, though he was almost black, and as I looked upon him, I thought he looked something like the Errate, and he said to me, ' Zincali ; chachipe !' and then he whispered to me, in queer language, which I could scarcely understand, ' your ro is wait- ing, come with me, my little sister, and I will take you unto him.' ' Where is he V said I, and he pointed to the west, to the land of the Corahai, and said, 'He is yonder away; come with me, little sister, the ro is waiting.' For a moment I was afraid, but I bethought me of my husband, and I wished to be amongst the Corahai; so I took the little parne (money} I had, and locking up the cachimani went with the strange man ; the sentinel challenged us at the gate, but I gave him repani and he let us pass ; in a moment we were in the land of the Corahai. About a league from the town beneath a cerro (hill) we found four people, men and women, all very black like the strange man, and we joined ourselves with them, and they all sa- luted me and called me little sister. That was all I understood of their discourse, which was very crabbed ; and they took away my dress and gave me other clothes, and I looked like a Corahani, and away we marched for many days amidst deserts and small villages, and more than once it seemed to me that 1 was amongst the Errate, for their ways were the same ; the men would hokkawar (cheat) with mules and asses, and the women told baji, and after many days we came before a large town, and the black man said, ' Go in there, little sister, and there you will find your ro;' and I went to the gate, and an armed Cora- hano stood within the gate, and I looked in his face, and lo ! it was my ro. " what a strange town it was that I found myself in, full of people who had once been Candore (Christians), but had renegaded and become Corahai. There were Sese and Lalore (Portuguese), and men of other nations, and amongst them were some of the Errate from my own country; all were now soldiers of the Crallis of the Corahai and followed him to his wars; and in that town I remained with my ro a long time, occasionally going out with him to the wars, and I often asked him about the black men who brought me thither, and he told me that he had had deal- ings with them, and that he believed them to be of the Errate. Well, brother, to be short, my ro was killed in the wars, before a town to which the king of the Corahai laid siege, and I became a piuli (widow), and I returned to the village of the renegades, as it was call- ed, and supported myself as well as I could; and one day as I was sitting weeping, the black man, whom I had never seen since the day he brought me to my ro, again stood be- fore me, and he said, ' Come with me, little sister, come with me, the ro is at hand ;' and I went with him, and beyond the gate in the desert was the same party of black men and women which I had seen before. 'Where is my ro ?' said I. ' Here he is, little sister,' said the black man, ' here he is ; from this day I am the ro and you the romi : come, let us go, for there is business to be done.' "And I went with him, and he was my ro, and we lived amongst the deserts, and hokka- war'd and choried and told baji; and I said to myself, this is good, sure I am amongst the Errate in a better chim than my own ; and I often said that they were of the Errate, and then they would laugh and say that it might be so, and that they were not Corahai, but they could give no account of themselves. "Well, things went on in this way for years, and I had three chai by the black man, two of them died, but the youngest, who is the Calli who sits by the brasero, was spared ; so we roamed about and choried and told baji ; and it came to pass that once in the winter time our company attempted to pass a wide and deep river, of which there are many in the Chim del Corahai, and the boat overset with the rapidity of the current and all our people were drowned, all but myself and my chabi, whom I bore in my bosom. I had now no friends amongst the Corahai, and I wandered about the desplobados howling and lamenting till I became half lili (mad), and in this man- ner I found my way to the coast, where I made friends with the captain of a ship and returned to this land of Spain. And now I am here, I often wish myself back again amongst the Corahai." Here she commenced laughing loud and long, and when she had ceased, her daughter and grandchild took up the laugh, which they continued so long that I concluded they were all lunatics. Hour succeeded hour, and still we sat crouching over the brasero, from which, by this time, all warmth had departed ; the glow had long since disappeared, and only a few dying sparks were to be distinguished. The room or hall was now involved in darkness ; the women were motionless and still ; 1 shiver- ed and began to feel uneasy. " Will Antonio be here to night 1 ?" at length I demanded. "No tenga usted cuidao, my London Calo- ro," said the gipsy mother, in an unearthly tone ; " Pepindorio* has been here some time." * The Gipsy word for Antonio. 46 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. I was about to rise from my seat and at- tempt to escape from the house, when I felt a hand laid upon my shoulder, and in a moment I heard the voice of Antonio. "Be not afraid, 'tis I, brother; we will have a light anon, and then supper." The supper was rude enough, consisting of bread, cheese, and olives. Antonio, however, produced a leathern bottle of excellent wine; we despatched these viands by the light of an earthen lamp which was placed upon the floor. "Now," said Antonio to the youngest fe- male, " bring me the pajandi, and I will sing a gachapla." The girl brought the guitar, which, with some difficulty, the gipsy tuned, and then, strumming it vigorously, he sang: "I stole a plump and bonny fowl, But ere I well bad dined, The master came with scowl and growl, And me would captive bind. My hat and mantle off I threw, And scour' d across the lea, Then cried the beng* with loud hallo, Where does the gipsy flee?" He continued playing and singing far a con- siderable time, the two younger females dam> ing in the meanwhile with unwearied dili- gence, whilst the aged mother occasionally snapped her fingers or beat time on the ground with her stick. At last Antonio suddenly laid down the instrument, exclaiming: " I see the London Caloro is weary; enough, enough, to-morrow more thereof we will now to the charipe (bed}." "With all my heart," said I; "where are we to sleep 1" " In the stable," said he, " in the manger; however cold the stable may be, we shall be warm enough in the bufa." CHAPTER X. The Gipsy's Grand-daughter Proposed Marriage The Alguazil The Assault Speedy Trot Arrival at Trujillo Night and Rain The Forest The Bivouac Mount and Away Jaraicejo The National The Cavalier Balmerson Among the Thickets Serious Discourse What is Truth ? Unexpected Intelligence. WE remained three days at the gipsies' house, Antonio departing early every morn- ing, on his mule, and returning late at night. The house was large and ruinous, the only habitable part of it, with the exception of the stable, being the hall, where we had supped, and there the gipsy females slept at night, on some mats and mattrasses in a corner. " A strange house is this," said I to An- tonio, one morning, as he was on the point of saddling his mule and departing, as I sup- posed, on the affairs of Egypt ; " a strange house and strange people ; that gipsy grand- mother has all the appearance of a sowanee." " All the appearance of one," said Anto- nio. " And is she not really one 1 She knows more crabbed things and crabbed words than all the Errate betwixt here and Catalonia. She has been amongst the wild Moors, and can make more drows, poisons, and philtres than any one alive. She once made a kind of paste, and persuaded me to taste, and shortly after I had done so my soul departed from my body, and wandered through horrid forests and mountains, amidst monsters and duendes, during one entire night. She learned many things amidst the Corahai which I should be glad to know." "Have you been long acquainted with her!" said I, "you appear to be quite at home in this house." "Acquainted with her!" said Antonio. " Did not my own brother marry the black Calli, her daughter, who bore him the chabi, sixteen years ago, just before he was hanged by the Busne?" In the afternoon I was seated with the gipsy mother in the hall, the two Callees were absent telling fortunes about the town and neighbourhood, which was their prin- cipal occupation. "Are you married, my London Caloro!" said the old woman to me. "Are you a rol" Myse!f. Wherefore do you ask, Dai de los Gales? Gipsy Mother. It is high time that the lacha of the chabi were taken from her, and that she had a ro. You can do no better than take her for romi, my London Caloro. Myse/f. I am a stranger in this land, O mother of the gipsies, and scarcely know how to provide for myself, much less for a romi. Gipsy Mother. She wants no one to pro- vide for her, my London Caloro, she can at any time provide for herself and her ro. She can hokkawar, tell baji, and there are few to equal her at stealing a pastesas. Were she once at Madrilati, where they tell me you are going, she would make much treasure ; there- fore take her thither, for in this foros she is nahi (los!}, as it were, for there is nothing to be gained ; but in the foros baro it would be another matter; she would go dressed in lachipi and sonacai (silk and gold}, whilst you would ride about on your black-tailed gra ; and when you had got much treasure, you might return hither and live like a Cral- lis, and all the Errate of the Chim del Minro should bow down their heads to you. What say you, my London Caloro, what say you to my plan ? * Devil. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 47 Myself. Your plan is a plausible one, mother, or at least some people would think so ; but I am, as you are aware, of another chim, and have no inclination to pass my life in this country. Gipsy Mother. Then return to your own country, my Caloro, the chabi can cross the pani. Would she not do business in London with the rest of the Galore 1 ? Or why not go to the land of the Corahai ? In which case I would accompany you ; I and my daughter, the mother of the chabi. Myself. And what should we do in the land of the Corahai ? It is a poor and wild country, I believe. Gipxy Mother. The London Caloro asks me what we could do in the land of the Corahai ! Aromali ! I almost think that I am speaking to a lilipendi (simpleton). Are there not horses to chore 1 ? Yes, I trow there are, and better ones than in this land, and asses and mules. In the land of the Corahai you must hokkawar and chore even as you must here, or in your own country, or else you are no Caloro. Can you not join your- selves with the black people who live in the despoblados 1 ? Yes, surely; and glad they would be to have among them the Errate from Spain and London. I am seventy years of age, but I wish not to die in this chim, but yonder, far away, where both my roms are sleeping. Take the chabi, therefore, and go to Madrilati to win the parne, and when you have got it, return, and we will give a ban- quet to all the Busne in Merida, and in their food I will mix drow, and they shall eat and burst like poisoned sheep And when they have eaten we will leave them, and away to the land of the Moor, my London Caloro. During the whole time that I remained at Marida I stirred not once from the house; following the advice of Antonio, who inform- ed me that it would not be convenient. My time lay rather heavily on my hands, my only source of amusement consisting in the conversation of the women, and in that of Antonio when he made his appearance at night. In these tertulias the grandmother was the principal spokeswoman, and astonished my ears with wonderful tales of the land of the Moors, prison escapes, thievish feats, and one or two poisoning adventures, in which she had been engaged, as she informed me, in her early youth. There was occasionally something very wild in her gestures and demeanour; more than once I observed her, in the midst of much declam-.tion, to stop short, stare in vacancy, and thrust out her palms ns if en- deavouring to push away some invisible sub- stance ; she goggled frightfully with her eyes, and once sank back in convulsions, of which her children took no farther notice than observing that she was only Hli, and would soon come to herself. Late in the afternoon of the third day, as the three women and myself sat conversing as usual, over the brasero, a shabby-looking fellow in an old rusty cloak, walked into the room : he came straight up to the place where we were sitting, produced a paper cigar, which he lighted at a coal, and taking a whiff or two, looked at me: " Carracho," said he, " who is this companion 1" I saw at once that the fellow was no gipsy: the women said nothing, but I could hear the grandmother growling to herself, something after the manner of an old grimalkin when disturbed. " Carracho," reiterated the fellow, " how came this companion here?" "No IK penela chi min chaborOi" said the black Callee to me, in an under tone; "sin tin baiicho de Ins chineles;"* then looking up to the interrogator she said aloud, "he is one of our people from Portugal, come on the smuggling lay, and to see his poor sisters here!" " Then let him give me some tobacco," said the fellow, " I suppose he has brought some with him." " He has no tobacco," said the black Cal- lee, " he has nothing but old iron. This cigar is the only tobacco there is in the house; take it, smoke it, and go away !" Thereupon she produced a cigar from out her shoe, which she presented to the al- guazil. "This will not do," said the fellow, taking the cigar, " I must have something belter; it is now three months since I received any thing from you; the last present was a hand- kerchief, which was good for nothing; there- fore, hand me over something worth taking, or I will carry you all to the Carcel." "The Busno will take us to prison," said the black Callee, " ha ! ha! ha!" "The Chinel will take us to prison," gig- gled the young girl, " he ! he ! he !" "The Bengui will carry us all to the esta- ripel," grunted the gipsy grandmother, "ho! ho! ho!" The three females arose and walked slowly round the fellow, fixing their eyes steadfastly on his face ; he appeared frightened, and evi- dently wished to get away. Suddenly the two youngest seized his hands, and whilst he struggled to release himself, the old woman exclaimed: "You want tobacco, hijo you come to the gipsy house to frighten the Cal- lees and the strange Caloro out of their plako truly, hijo, we have none for you, and right sorry I am ; we have, however, plenty of the dust a su servicio." Here, thrusting her hand into her pocket, she discharged a handful of some kind of dust or snuff into the fellow's eyes: he stamped and roared, but was for some time held fast by the two Callees: he extricated himself, how- ever, and attempted to unsheath a knife which he bore at his girdle; but the two younger females flung themselves upon him lilce furies, while the old woman increased his disorder by thrusting her stick into his face ; he was * " Say nothing to him, my lad, he is a hog of an alguazil." THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. soon glad to give op the contest, and retreated, leaving behind him his hat and cloak, which the chabi gathered up and flung after him into the street. "This is a bad business," said I, " the fel- low will of course bring the rest of the justi- cia upon us, and we shall all be cast into the estaripel." "Ca!" said the black Callee, biting her thumb nail, "he has more reason to fear us than we him, we could bring him to the fili- micha ; we have, moreover, friends in this town plenty, plenty." "Yes," mumbled the grandmother, "the daughters of the baji have friends, my Lon- don Caloro, friends among the Busnees, bari- butre, baribu (plenty, plenty)." Nothing farther of any account occurred in the gipsy house; the next day, Antonio and myself were again in the saddle, we travelled at least thirteen leagues before we reached the Venta, where we passed the night ; we rose early in the morning, my guide informing me that we had a long day's journey to make, "Where are we bound tol" I demanded. "To Trujillo," he replied. When the sun arose, which it did gloomily and amidst threatening rain-clouds, we found ourselves in the neighbourhood of a range of mountains which lay on our left, and which, Antonio informed me, were called the Sierra of San Selvan; our route, however, lay over wide plains, scantily clothed with brushwood, with here and there a melancholy village, with its old and dilapidated church. Through- out the greater part of the day, a drizzling rain was falling, which turned the dust of the roads into mud and mire, considerably im- peding our progress. Towards evening we reached a moor, a wild place enough, strewn with enormous stones and rocks. Before us, at some distance, rose a strange conical hill, rough and shaggy, which appeared to be nei- ther more nor less than an immense assem- blage of the same kind of rocks which lay upon the moor. The rain had now ceased, but a strong wind rose and howled at our backs. Throughout the journey, I had ex- perienced considerable difficulty in keeping up with the mule of Antonio ; the walk of the horse was slow, and I could discover no ves- tige of the spirit which the gipsy had as- sured me lurked within him. We were now upon a tolerably clear spot of the moor; " I am about to see," I said, " whether this horse has any of the quality which you have de- scribed." " Do so," said Antonio, and spur- red his beast onward, speedily leaving me far behind. I jerked the horse with the bit, endeavouring to arouse his dormant spirit, whereupon he stopped, reared, and refused to proceed. " Hold the bridle loose and touch him with your whip," shouted Antonio from before. I obeyed, and forthwith, the animal set off at a trot, which gradually increased in swiftness till it became a downright furious speedy trot ; his limbs were now thoroughly lithy, and he brandished his fore legs in a manner perfectly wondrous ; the mule of An- tonio, which was a spirited animal of excel- lent paces, would fain have competed with him, but was passed in a twinkling. This tremendous trot endured for about a mile, when the animal, becoming yet more heated, broke suddenly into a gallop. Hurrah! no hare ever ran so wildly or blindly; it was, literally, venire a terre ; and I had consider- able difficulty in keeping him clear of rocks, against which he would have rushed in his savage fury, and dashed himself and rider to atoms. This race brought me to the foot of the hill, where I waited till the gipsy rejoined me: we left the hill, which seemed quite inacces- sible, on our right, passing through a small and wretched village. The sun went down, and dark night presently came upon us; we proceeded on, however, for nearly three hours, until we heard the barking of dogs, and per- ceived a light or two in the distance. "That is Trujillo," said Antonio, who had not spoken for a long time. "I am glad of it," I replied; "I am thoroughly tired;! shall sleep soundly in Trujillo." "That is as it may be," said the gipsy, and spurred his mule to a brisker pace. We soon entered the town, which appeared dark and gloomy enough ; I followed close behind the gipsy* who led the way I knew not whither, through dismal streets and dark places, where cats were squalling. " Here is the house," said he at last, dismounting before a low mean hut; he knocked, no answer was returned; he knocked again, but still there was no reply ; he shook the door and essayed to open it, but it appeared firmly locked and bolted. " Caramba !" said he, "they are out I fear- ed it might be so. Now what are we to do?" " There can be no difficulty," said I, " with respect to what we have to do ; if your friends are gone out, it is easy enough to go to a po- sada." " You know not what you say," replied the gipsy, " I dare not go to the mesuna, nor enter any house in Trujillo save this, and this is shut ; well, there is no remedy, we must move on, and, between ourselves, the sooner we leave this place the better; my own planoro (brother'] was garroted at Trujillo." He lighted a cigar, by means of a steel and yesca, sprang on his mule, and proceeded through streets and lanes equally dismal as those which we had already traversed till we again found ourselves out of the town. I confess I did not much like this decision of the gipsy ; I felt very slight inclination to leave the town behind, and to venture into unknown places in the dark night, amidst rain and mist, for the wind had now dropped, and the rain began again to fall briskly. I was, moreover, much fatigued, and wished for no- thing better than to deposit myself in some comfortable manger, where I might sink to sleep, lulled by the pleasant sound of horses and mules despatching their provender. I had, however, put myself under the direction of the gipsy, and I was too old a traveller to quarrel with my guide under the present cir- THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 49 cumstnnces. I therefore followed close at his crupper; our only light being the glow emit- ted from the gipsy's cigar; at last he flung it from his mouth into a puddle, and we were then in darkness. We proceeded in this manner for a long time; the gipsy was silent; I myself was equally so ; the rain descended more and more. I sometimes thought I heard doleful noises, something like the hooting of owls. "This is a strange night to be wandering abroad in," I at length said to Antonio. " It is, brother," said he, " but I would sooner be abroad in such a night, and in such places, than in the estaripel of Trujillo." We wandered at least a league farther, and appeared now to be near a wood, for I could occasionally distinguish the trunks of im- mense trees. Suddenly Antonio stopped his mule : "Look, brother," said he, " to the left, and tell me if you do not see a light ; your eyes are sharper than mine." I did as he commanded me. At first I could see no- thing, but moving a little farther on I plainly saw a large light at some distance, seemingly amongst the trees. " Yonder cannot be a lamp or candle," said I ; "it is more like the blaze of a fire." " Very likely," said Anto- nio. " There are no queres (houses') in this place; it is doubtless a fire made by duro- tunes (shepherds) ; let us go and join them, for, as you say, it is doleful work wandering about at night amidst rain and mire." We dismounted and entered what I now saw was a forest, leading the animals cau- tiously amongst -the trees and brushwood. In about five minutes we reached a small open space, at the farther side of which, at the foot of a large cork tree, a fire was burn- ing, and by it stood or sat two or three figures; they had heard our approach, and one of them now exclaimed Quien Vive! " I know that voice," said Antonio, and leav- ing the horse with me, rapidly advanced to- wards the fire : presently I heard an Ola ! and a laugh, and soon the voice of Antonio summoned me to advance. On reaching the fire, I found two dark lads, and a still darker woman of about forty ; the latter seated on what appeared to be horse or mule furniture. I likewise saw a horse and two donkeys teth- ered to the neighbouring trees. It was in fact a gipsy bivouac .... "Come forward, brother, and show yourself," said Antonio to me ; " you are amongst friends; these are of the Errate, the very people whom I expected to find at Trujillo, and in whose house we should have slept." "And what," said I, "could have induced them to leave their house in Trujillo and come into this dark forest, in the midst of wind and rain, to pass the night 1" " They come on business of Egypt, bro- ther, doubtless," replied Antonio ; " and that business is none of ours, Calla boca! It is lucky we have found them here, else we should have had no supper, and our horses no corn." " My ro is prisoner at the village yonder," 7 said the woman, pointing with her hand in a particular direction; "he is prisoner yonder for choring a mailla (donkey} ; we are come to see what we can do in his behalf; and where can we lodge better than in this forest, where there is nothing to pay ? It is not the first time, I trow, that Galore have slept at the root of a tree." One of the striplings now gave us barley for our animals in a large bag, into which we successively introduced their heads, allowing the famished creatures to regale themselves till we conceived that they had satisfied their hunger. There was a puchero simmering at the fire, half full of bacon, garbanzos, and other provisions; this was emptied into a large wooden platter, and out of this Antonio and myself supped ; the other gipsies refused to join us, giving us to understand that they had eaten before our arrival; they all, how- ever, did justice to the leathern bottle of An- tonio, which, before his departure from Meri- da, he had the precaution to fill. I was by this time completely overcome with fatigue and sleep. Antonio flung me an immense horse cloth, of which he bore more than one beneath the huge cushion on which he rode; in this I wrapped myself, and plac- ing my head upon a bundle, and my feet as near as possible to the fire, I lay down. Antonio and the other gipsies remained seated by the fire conversing. I listened for a moment to what they said, but I did not per- fectly understand it, and what I did under- stand by no means interested me; the rain still drizzled, but I heeded it not, and was soon asleep. The sun was just appearing as I awoke. I made several efforts before I could rise from the ground; my limbs were quite stiff, and my hair was covered with rime; for the rain had ceased and a rather severe frost set in. I looked around me, but could see neither Antonio nor the gipsies ; the animals of the latter had likewise disappeared, so had the horse which I had hitherto rode; the mule, however, of Antonio still remained fastened to the tree; this latter circumstance quieted some apprehensions which were beginning to arise in my mind. "They are gone on some business of Egypt," I said to myself, "and will return anon." I gathered together the embers of the fire, and heaping upon them sticks and branches, soon succeeded in call- ing forth a blaze, beside which I again placed the puchero, with what remained of the pro- vision of last night. I waited for a consider- able time in expectation of the return of my companions, but as they did not appear, I sat down and breakfasted. Before 1 had well finished I heard the noise of a horse approach- ing rapidly, and presently Antonio made his appearance amongst the trees, with some agi- tation in his countenance. He sprang from the horse, and instantly proceeded to untie the mule. " Mount, brother, mount !" said he, pointing to the horse ; " I went with the Cal- lee and her chabes to the village where the ro is in trouble; the chinobaro, however, THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. seized them at once with their cattle, and would have laid hands also on me, but I set spurs to the grasti, gave him the bridle, and was soon far away. Mount, brother, mount, or we shall have the whole rustic canaille upon us in a twinkling." I did as he commanded : we were presently in the road which we had left the night be- fore. Along this we hurried at a great rate, the horse displaying his best speedy trot; whilst the mule, with its ears pricked up, gal- loped gallantly at his side. " What place is that on the hill yonder?" said I to Antonio, at the expiration of an hour, as we prepared to descend a deep valley. " That is Jaraicejo," said Antonio; "a bad place it is, and a bad place it has ever been for the Calo people." " If it is such a bad place," said I, " I hope we shall not have to pass through it." " We must pass through it," said Antonio, " for more reasons than one : first, forasmuch as the road lies through Jaraicejo; and se- cond, forasmuch as it will be necessary to pur- chase provisions there, both for ourselves and horses. On the other side of Jaraicejo there is a wild desert, a despoblado, where we shall find nothing." We crossed the valley, and ascended the hill, and as we drew near to the town the gipsy said, "Brother, we had best pass through that town singly. I will go in ad- vance ; follow slowly, and when there pur- chase bread and barley ; you have nothing to fear. I will await you on the despoplado." Without waiting for my answer he hasten- ed forward, and was speedily out of sight. I followed slowly behind, and entered the gate of the town; an old dilapidated place, consisting of little more than one street. Along this street I was advancing, when a man with a dirty foraging cap on his head, and holding a gun in his hand, came running up to me: " Who are you ?" said he, in rather rough accents ; " from whence do you come?" "From Badajoz and Trujillo," I replied; " why do you ask ?" "1 am one of the national guard," said the man, " and am placed here to inspect stran- gers; I am told that a gipsy fellow just now rode through the town ; it is well for him that I had stepped into my house. Do you coine in his company ?" " Do I look a person," said I, " likely to keep company with gipsies'?" The national measured me from top to toe, and then looked me full in the face with an expression which seemed to say, "Likely enough." In fact, my appearance was by no means calculated to prepossess people in my favour. Upon my head I wore an old Anda- lusian hat, which, from its condition, appear- ed to have been trodden under foot ; a rusty cloak, which had perhaps served half a dozen generations, enwrapped my body. My nether garments were by no means of the finest de- scription ; and as far as could be seen were covered with mud, with which my face was likewise plentifully bespattered, and upon my chin was a beard of a week's growth. " Have you a passport?" at length demand- ed the national. I remembered having read that the best way to win a Spaniard's heart is to treat him with ceremonious civility. I therefore dismounted, and taking off my hat, made a low bow to the constitutional soldier, saying, "Spiior nacion- al, you must know that I am an English gen- I tleman, travelling in this country for my plea- sure. I bear a passport, which, on inspecting, you will find to be perfectly regular; it was given me by the great Lord Falmerston, minis- ter of England, whom you of course have heard of here; at the bottom you will see his own hand- writing; look at it and rejoice; perhaps you will never have another opportunity. As I put un- bounded confidence in the honour of every gen- tleman, I leave the passport in your hands whilst I repair to the posada to refresh my- self. When you have inspected it, you will perhaps oblige me so far as to bring it to me. Cavalier, I kiss your hands." I then made him another low bow, which he returned with one still lower, and leaving him now staring at the passport and now looking at myself, I went into a posada, to which I was directed by a beggar whom I met. I fed the horse, and procured some bread and barley, as the gipsy had directed me; I likewise purchased three fine partridges of a fowler, who was drinking wine in the posada. He was satisfied with the price I gave him, and offered to treat me with a copita, to which I made no objection. As we sat discoursing at the table, the national entered with the pass- port in his hand, and sat down by us. National. Cabellero! I return you your passport, it is quite in form. I rejoice much to have made your acquaintance ; I have no doubt that you can give me some information re- specting the present war. Myself. I shall be very happy to afford so polite and honourable a gentleman any inform- ation in my power. National. What is England doing, is she about to afford any assistance to this coun- try ? If she pleased, she could put down the war in three months. Myself. Xo tenga usted cuidao, Sehor na- tional ; the war will be put down, don't doubt. You have heard of the English legion, which my Lord Palmerston has sent over? Leave the matter in their hands, you will soon see the result. National. It appears to me that this Ca- ballero Balmerson must be a very honest man. Myself. There can be no doubt of it. National. I have heard that he is a great general. Myself. There can be no doubt of it. In some things neither Napoleon nor the sawyer* would stand a chance with him for a moment. Es mucho kombre. * El Serrador, a Carlist partisan, who about this period was much talked of in Spain. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 51 National. I am glad to hear it. Does he intend to head the legion himself? Myself. I believe not; but he has sent over, to head the fighting men, a friend of his, who is thought to be nearly as much versed in military matters as himself. National. lo me alegro mitcho. I see that the war will soon be over. Caballero, I thank you for your politeness, and for the information which you have afforded me. I hope you will have a pleasant journey. I confess that lam surprised to see a gentleman of your country travelling alone, and in this manner, through such regions as these. The roads are at pre- sent very bad ; there have of late been many accidents, and more than two deaths in this neighbourhood. The despoblado out yonder has a particularly evil name ; be on your guard, Caballero. I am sorry that gipsy was permitted to pass; should you meet him and not. like his looks, shoot him at once, stab him, or ride him down. He is a well known thief, contrabandista, and murderer, and has com- mitted more assassinations than he has fingers on his hands. Caballero, if you please, we will allow you a guard to the other side of the pass. You do not wish it 1 Then, fare- well. Stay, before I go I should wish to see once more the signature of the Caballero Bal- merson. I showed him the signature, which he look- ed upon with a profound reverence, uncover- ing his head for a moment ; we then embraced and parted. I mounted the horse and rode from the town, at first proceeding very slowly ; I had no sooner, however, reached the moor, than 1 put the animal to his speedy trot, and pro- ceeded at a tremendous rate for some time, expecting every moment to overtake the gipsy. I, however, saw nothing of him, nor did 1 meet with a single human being. The road along which 1 sped was narrow and sandy, winding amidst thickets of broom and brushwood, with which the despoblado was overgrown, and which in some places were as high as a man's head. Across the moor, in the direction in which I was proceeding, rose a lofty eminence, naked and bare. The moor extended for at least three leagues; I had nearly crossed it, and reached the foot of the ascent. I was becoming very uneasy, con- ceiving that I might have passed the gipsy amongst the thickets, when I suddenly heard his well known Ola! and his black savage head and staring eyes suddenly appeared from amidst a clump of broom. 'You have tarried long, brother," said he; "I almost thought you had played me false." He bade me dismount, and then proceeded to lead the horse behind the thicket, where I found the mule picqueted to the ground. I gave him the barley and provisions, and then proceeded to relate to him my adventure with the national. " I would I had him here," said the gip- sy, on hearing the epithets which the former had lavished uoon him. " I would I had him here, then should my chulee and his carlo be- come better acquainted." " And what are yon doing here yourself," I demanded, " in this wild place, amidst these thickets !" "I am expecting a messenger down yon pass," said the gipsy; "and till that mes- senger arrive I can neither go forward nor re- turn. It is on business of Egypt, brother, that I am here." As he invariably used this last expression when he wished to evade my inquiries, I held my peace, and said no more; the animals were fed, and we proceeded to make a frugal repast on bread and wine. " Why do you not cook the game which I brought!" I demanded; "in this place there is plenty of materials for a fire." " The smoke might discover us, brother," said Antonio. "I am desirous of lying es- condido in this place until the arrival of the messenger." It was now considerably past noon; the gipsy lay behind the thicket, raising him- self up occasionally and looking anxiously towards the hill which lay over against us ; at last, with an exclamation of disappoint- ment and impatience, he flung himself on the ground, where he lay a considerable time, apparently ruminating; at last he lifted up his head and looked me in the face. Antonio. Brother, I cannot imagine what business brought you to this country. Myself. Perhaps the same which brings you to this moor, business of Egypt. Antonio. Not so, brother; you speak the language of Egypt, it is true, but your ways and words are neither those of the Gales nor of the Busne. Myself. Did you not hear me speak in the foros about God and Tebleque 1 It was to declare his glory to the Gales and Gentiles that I came to the land of Spain. Antonio. And who sent you on this er- rand! Myself. You would scarcely understand me were I to inform you. Know, however, that there are many in foreign lands who lament the darkness which envelopes Spain, and the scenes of cruelty, robbery, and mur- der which deform it. Antonio. Are they Galore or Busne 1 jlfy'f/f.What matters it! Both Galore and Busne are sons of the same God. Antonio. You lie, brother, they are not of one father nor of one Errate. You speak of robbery, cruelty, and murder. There are too many Busne, brother; if there were no Busne, there would be neither robbery nor murder. The Galore neither rob nor murder each other, the Busne do ; nor are they cruel to their ani- mals, their law forbids them. When I was a child I was beating a hurra, but my father stopped my hand, and chided me. " Hurt not. the animal," said he ; " for within it is the soul of your own sister !" Mi/sc/f. And do you believe in this wild doctrine, O Antonio! Antonio. Sometimes I do, sometimes I do THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. not. There are some who believe in nothing- ; j not even that they live ! Long since, I knew j an old Caloro, he was old, very old, upwards j of a hundred years, and I once heard him ' say, that all we thought we saw was a lie ; that there was no world, no men nor women, | no horses nor mules, no olive trees. But whither are we straying? I asked what in- duced you to come to this country you tell me the glory of God and Tebleque. Dispa- rate ! tell that to the Busne. You have good reasons for coming, no doubt, else you would not be here. Some say you are a spy of the Londone, perhaps you are ; I care not. Rise, brother, arid tell me whether any one is coming down the pass. " I see a distant object," I replied ; " like a speck on the side of the hill." The gipsy started up, and we both fixed our eyes on the object : the distance was so great that it was at first with difficulty that we could distinguish whether it moved or not. A quarter of an hour, however, dispelled all doubts, for within this time it had nearly reached the bottom of the hill, and we could descry a figure seated on an animal of some kind. "It is a woman," said I, at length, "mounted on a gray donkey." " Then it is my messenger," said Antonio, " for it can be no other." The woman and the donkey were now upon the plain, and for some time were concealed from us by the copse and brushwood which intervened. They were not long, however, in making their appearance at the distance of about a hundred yards. The donkey was a beautiful creature of a silver gray, and came frisking along, swinging her tail, and moving her feet so quick that they scarcely seemed to touch the ground. The animal no sooner perceived us than she stopped short, turned round, and attempted to escape by the way she had come ; her rider, however, detained her, whereupon the donkey kicked violently, and would probably have flung the former, had she not sprung nimbly to the ground. The form of the woman was entirely con- cealed by the large wrapping man's cloak which she wore. I ran to assist her, when she turned her face full upon me, and I in- Btantly recognised the sharp clever features of Antonia, whom I had seen at Badajoz, the daughter of my guide. She said nothing to me, but advancing to her father, addressed something to him in a low voice, which I did not hear. He started back, and vociferated Todos? "Yes," said she, in a louder tone, probably repeating the words which I had not caught before, 'Todos estan presets!" The gipsy remained for some time like one astounded, and, unwilling to listen to their discourse, which I imagined might re- late to business of Egypt, I walked away amidst the thickets. 1 was absent for some time, but could occasionally hear passionate expressions and oaths. In about half an hour I returned; they had left the road, but I found them behind the broom clump, where the animals stood. Both were seated on the ground ; the features of the gipsy were pe- culiarly dark and grim; he held his un- sheathed knife in his hand, which he would occasionally plunge into the earth, exclaim- ing: Todus! Todos! " Brother," said he, at last, " I can go no farther with you ; the business which carried me to Castumba is settled; you must now travel by yourself and trust to your baji (for- tune)." "I trust in Undevel," I replied, "who wrote my fortune long ago. But how am I to journey ? I have no horse, for you doubt- less want your own." The gipsy appeared to reflect: "I want the horse, it is true, brother," he said, " and likewise the macho ; but you shall not go en pindre , you shall purchase the burra of An- tonia, which I presented her when I sent her upon this expedition." "The burra," I replied, "appears both savage and vicious." " She is both, brother, and on that account I bought her; a savage and vicious beast has generally four excellent legs. You are a Calo, brother, and can manage her ; you shall therefore purchase the savage burra, giving my daughter Antonia a baria of gold. If you think fit, you can sell the beast at Talavera or Madrid, for Estremenian bestis are highly considered in Castumba." In less than an hour I was on the other side of the pass, mounted on the savage burra. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 53 CHAPTER XL The Pass of Mirabete Wolves and Shepherds Female Subtlety Death by Wolves The Mys- tery solved The Mountains The dark Hour The Traveller of the Night Abarbenel Hoarded Treasure Force of Gold The Archbishop Arrival at Madrid. I PROCEEDED down the pass of Mirabete, occasionally ruminating on the matter which had brought me to Spain, and occasionally admiring one of the finest prospects in the world : before me outstretched lay immense plains, bounded in the distance by huge mountains, whilst at the foot of the hill, which I was now descending, rolled the Tagus, in a deep narrow stream, between lofty banks; the whole was gilded by the rays of the setting sun ; for the day, though cold and wintry, was bright and clear. In about an hour I reached the river at a place where stood the remains of what had once been a magnificent bridge, which had, however, been blown up in the Peninsular war and never since repaired. I crossed the river in a ferry-boat ; the pas- sage was rather difficult, the current very rapid and swollen, owing to the latter rains. "Am I in New Castille?" I demanded of the ferryman, on reaching the further bank. "The raya is many leagues from hence," re- plied the ferryman; "you seem a stranger. Whence do you come V "From England," I replied, and without waiting for an answer, I sprang on the burra, and proceeded on my way. The burra plied her feet most nimbly, and, shortly after nightfall, brought me to a village at about two leagues' distance from the river's bank. I sat down in the venta where I put up; there was a huge fire, consisting of the great- er part of the trunk of an olive tree; the com- pany was rather miscellaneous : a hunter with his escopeta; a brace of shepherds with im- mense dogs, of that species for which Estre- madura is celebrated ; a broken soldier, just returned from the wars ; and a beggar, who, after demanding charity par las siete llagas de Maria Santissima, took a seat amidst us, and made himself quite comfortable. The hostess was an active bustling woman, and busied herself in cooking my supper, which consisted of the game which I had purchased at Jarai- cejo, and which, on my taking leave of the gipsy, he had counselled me to take with me. In the mean time, I sat by the fire listening to the conversation of the company. "I would I were a wolf," said one of the shepherds ; " or, indeed, any thing rather than what I am. A pretty life is this of ours, out in the campo, among the carascales, suffering heat and cold for a peseta a day. I would I were a wolf; he fares better and is more re- spected than the wretch of a shepherd." "But he frequently fares scurvily," said I; " the shepherd and dogs fall upon him, and then he pays for his temerity with the loss of bis head." " That is not often the case, senor traveller," said the shepherd ; " he watches his opportu- nity, and seldom runs into harm's way. And as to attacking him, it is no very pleasant task ; he has both teeth and claws, and dog or man, who has once felt them, likes not to venture a second time within his reach. These dogs of mine will seize a bear singly with considerable alacrity, though he is a most powerful animal, but I have seen them run howling away from a wolf, even though there were two or three of us at hand to encourage them." "A dangerous person is the wolf," said the other shepherd, "and cunning as dangerous; who knows more than he? He knows the vulnerable point of every animal ; see, for ex- ample, how he flies at the neck of a bullock, tearing open the veins with his grim teeth and claws. But does he attack a horse in this manner ? I trow not." "Not he," said the other shepherd, "he is too good a judge; but he fastens on the haunches, and hamstrings him in a moment. O the fear of the horse when he comes near the dwelling of the wolf. My master was the other day riding in the despoblado, above the pass, on his fine Andalusian steed, which had cost him five hundred dollars; suddenly the horse stopped, and sweated and trembled like a woman in the act of fainting; my master could not conceive the reason, but presently he heard a squealing and growling in the bushes, whereupon he fired off his gun and scared the wolves, who scampered away ; but he tells me, that the horse has not yet recover- ed from his fright." "Yet the mares know occasionally how to balk him," replied his companion ; " there is great craft and malice in mares, as there is in all females ; see them feeding in the camp with their young cria about them ; presently the alarm is given that the wolf is drawing near; they start wildly and run about for a moment, but it is only for a moment, amain they gather together, forming themselves into a circle, in the centre of which they place the foals. Onward comes the wolf, hoping to make his dinner on horseflesh ; he is mistaken, however, the mares have balked him, and are as cunning as himself; not a tail is to be seen not a hind quarter but there stand the whole troop, their fronts towards him ready to receive him, and as he runs round them bark- ing and howling, they rise successively on their hind legs, ready to stamp him to the earth, should he attempt to hurt their cria or themselves." " Worse than the he-wolf," said the sol- dier, " is the female, for, as the senor pastor has well observed, there is more malice in, 9 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. women than in males; to see one of these she- j that the fellows of whom I am speaking- ex- demons with a troop of the males at her heels j pected many more of Iheir brethren to join is truly surprising; where she turns they j them, which is likely enough, as all gipsies turn, and what she does that do they; for i are thieves: but, praised be God, they have they appear bewitched, and have no power j been put down before they became too formi- but to imitate her actions. I was once travel- j dable. I saw them myself conveyed to the ling with a comrade over the hills of Galicia, j prison at . Thanks be to God. Todos when we heard a howl. ' Those are wolves,' said my companion, 'let us get out of the estan prestos!" "The mystery is now solved," said I to myself, and proceeded to despatch my supper, which was now ready. The next day's journey brought me to a considerable town, the name of which I have forgotten. It is the first in New Castille, in this direction. I passed the night, as usual, in the manger of the stable, close beside the Caballeria; for, as I travelled upon a donkey, I deemed it incumbent upon me to be satisfied with a couch in keeping with my manner of journeying, being averse, by any squeamish and over-delicate airs, to generate a suspicion amongst the people with whom I mingled that I was aught higher than what my equipage and outward appearance might lead them to believe. Rising before daylight, I again pro- ceeded on my way, hoping ere night to be able to reach Talavera, which I was informed was ten leagues distant. The way lay entirely over an unbroken level, for the most part co- vered with olive trees. On the left, however, at the distance of a few leagues, rose the mighty mountains which I have already men- tioned. They run eastward in a seemingly interminable range, parallel with the route which I was pursuing; their tops and sides were covered with dazzling snow, and the blasts which came sweeping from them across the wide and melancholy plains were of bitter keenness. "What mountains are those V I inquired of a barber-surgeon who, mounted like myself on a gray burra, joined me about noon, and proceeded in my company for several leagues. " They have many names, Caballero," replied the barber; "according to the names of the neighbouring places, so are they called. Yon portion of them is styled the Serrania of Pla- sencia; and opposite to Madrid they are termed the Mountains of Guadarama, from a river of that name, which descends from them; they run a vast way, Caballero, and separate the two kingdoms, for on the other side is Old Castille. They are mighty mountains; and though they generate much cold, I take plea- sure in looking at them, which is not to be wondered at, seeing that I was born amongst them, though at present, for my sins, I live in a village of the plain. Caballero, there is not another such range in Spain; they have their secrets too their mysteries: strange tales are told of those hills, and of what they con- tain in their deep recesses, for they are a broad chain, and you may wander days and days the roads on the frontier of Castille, and many j amongst them without coming to any termino way ;' so we stepped from the path and as- cended the side of the hill a little way, to a terrace, where grew vines after the manner of Galicia : presently appeared a large gray she- wolf, deshonesta, snapping and growling at a troop of demons, who followed close behind, their tails uplifted, and their eyes like fire- brands. What do you think the perverse brute did 1 ? Instead of keeping the path, she turned in the very direction in which we were ; there was now no remedy. So we stood still. I was the first upon the terrace, and by me she passed so close that I felt her hair brush against my legs; she, however, took no notice of me, but pushed on, neither look- ing to the right nor left, and all the other wolves trotted by me without offering the slightest injury or even so much as looking at me. Would that I could say as much for my poor companion who stood further on, and was, I believe, less in the demon's way than I was ; she had nearly passed him when suddenly she turned half round and snapped at him. I shall never forget what followed : in a moment a dozen wolves were upon him, tearing him limb from limb, with bowlings like nothing in this world ; in a few moments he was devoured, nothing remaining but the scull and a few bones ; and then they passed on in the same manner as they came. Good reason had I to be grateful that my lady wolf took less notice of me than my poor com- rade." Listening to this and similar conversation, I fell into a doze before the fire, in which I continued for a considerable time, but was at length roused by a voice exclaiming in a loud tone, " Todos estan presos!" These were the exact words which, when spoken by his daughter, confounded the gipsy upon the moor. I looked around me: the company consisted of the same individuals to whose conversation I had been listening before I sank into slumber; but the beggar was now the spokesman, and he was haranguing with con- siderable vehemence. " I beg your pardon, Caballero," said I, "but I did not hear the commencement of your discourse. Who are those who have been captured !" "A band of accursed Gitanos, Caballero," replied the beggar, returning the title of cour- tesy which I had bestowed upon him. " Dur- ing more than a fortnight, they have infested have been the gentleman travellers like your- self whom they have robbed and murdered. It would seem that the gipsy canaille must Many have lost themselves on those hills, and have never again been heard of. Strange things are told of them : it is said that in cer- needs take advantage of these troublous times, tain places there are deep pools and lakes, in and form themselves into a faction. It is said , which dwell monsters, huge serpents as long THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 55 as a pine tree, and horses of the flood, which sometimes come out and commit mighty da- mage. One thing is certain, that yonder, far away to the west, in the heart of those hills, there is a wonderful valley, so narrow that only at midday is the face of the sun to be de- scried from it. That valley lay undiscovered and unknown for thousands of years; no per- son dreamed of its existence, but at last, a long time ago, certain hunters entered it by chance, and then what do you think they found, Caballero ? They found a small nation or tribe of unknown people, speaking an un- known language, who, perhaps, had lived there since the creation of the world, without intercourse with the rest of their fellow-crea- tures, and without knowing that other beings besides themselves existed ! Caballero, did you never hear of the valley of the Batuecas 1 ? Many books have been written about that val- ley and those people. Caballero, I am proud of yonder hills; and were I independent, and without wife or children, I would purchase a burra like that of your own, (which I see is an excellent one, and far superior to mine,) and travel amongst them till I knew all their mysteries, and had seen all the wondrous things which they contain." Throughout the day I pressed the burra for- ward, only stopping once in order to feed the animal ; but, notwithstanding that she played her part very well, night came on, and I was still about two leagues from Talavera. As the sun went down, the cold become intense ; I drew the old gipsy cloak, which I still wore, closer around me, but I found it quite inade- quate to protect me from the inclemency of the atmosphere. The road, which lay over a plain, was not very distinctly traced, and be- came in the dusk rather difficult to find, more especially as cross-roads leading to different places were of frequent occurrence. I however proceeded in the best manner I could, and when I became dubious as to the course I should take, I invariably allowed the animal on which I was mounted to decide. At length the moon shone out faintly, when suddenly by its beams I beheld a figure moving before me at a slight distance. I quickened the pace of the burra, and was soon close at its side. It went on, neither altering its pace nor look- ing round for a moment. It was the figure of a man, the tallest and bulkiest that I had hi- therto seen in Spain, dressed in a manner strange and singular for the country. On his head was a hat with a low crown and a broad brim, very much resembling that of an English wagoner; about his body was a long, loose tunic or slop, seemingly of coarse ticken, open in front, so as to allow the interior garments to be occasionally seen ; these appeared to consist of a jerkin and short velveteen panta- loons. I have said that the brim of the hat was broad, but, broad as it was, it was insuf- ficient to cover an immense bush of coal-black hair, which, thick and curly, projected on either side; over the left shoulder was flung a kind of satchel, and in the right hand was held a long staff or pole. There was something peculiarly strange about the figure; but what struck me the most was the tranquillity with which it moved along, taking no heed of me, though of course aware of my proximity, but looking straight forward along the road, save when it occasion- ally raised a huge face and large eyes towards the moon, which was now shining forth in the eastern quarter. "A cold night," said I at last. "Is this the way to Talavera ?" " It is the way to Talavera, and the night is cold." "I am going to Talavera," said I, "as I suppose you are yourself." " I am going thither, so are you, Bueno." The tones of the voice which delivered these words were in their way quite as strange and singular as the figure to which the voice belonged ; they were not exactly the tones of a Spanish voice, and yet there was something in them that could hardly be foreign; the pro- nunciation also was correct, and the language, though singular, faultless. But I was most struck with the manner in which the last word, bueno, was spoken. I had heard some- thing like it before, but where or when I could by no means remember. A pause now ensued ; the figure stalking on as before with the most perfect indifference, and seemingly with no disposition either to seek or a void conversation. " Are you not afraid," said I at last, " to travel these roads in the dark 1 It is said that there are robbers abroad." "Are you not rather afraid," replied the figure, " to travel these roads in the dark 1 you who are ignorant of the country, who are a foreigner, an Englishman !" " How is it that you know me to be an Englishman?" demanded I, much surprised. "That is no difficult matter," replied the. figure ; " the sound of your voice was enojigto to tell me that." "You speak of voices," said I; " suppose the tone of your own voice were to tell me who you are?" "That it will not do," replied jmy com- panion ; " you know nothing about tne you can know nothing about me." "Be not sure of that, my friend ; I am ac- quainted with many things of which you have little idea." " For exemplo," said the figure. " For example," said I ; " you speak two languages." The figure moved on, seemed to consider a moment, and then said slowly, bueno. " You have two names," I continued ; " one for the house and the other for the street; both are good, but the one by which you are called at home is the one which you like best." The man walked on about ten paces, in the same manner as he had previously done ; all of a sudden he turned, and taking the bridle of the burra gently in his hand, stopped her. I had now a full view of his face and figure, and those huge features and Herculean form, still occasionally revisit me in my dreams. I see him. standing in the moonshine, staring 56 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. me in the face with his deep calm eyes. At last he said : "Es usted tambien de nosotros ?" It was late at night when we arrived at Talavera. We went to a large gloomy house, which my companion informed me was the j principal posada of the town. We entered j the kitchen, at the extremity of which a large j fire was blazing. " Pepita," said my com- panion to a handsome girl, who advanced smiling towards us; "a brasero and a pri- vate apartment; this cavalier is a friend of mine, and we shall sup together." We were shown to an apartment in which were two alcoves containing beds. After supper, which consisted of the very best, by the order of my companion, we sat over the brasero and com- menced talking. Myself. Of course you have conversed with Englishmen before, else you could not have recognised me by the tone of my voice. Marbenel. I was a young lad when the war of the independence broke out, and there came to the village in which our family lived an English officer in order to teach discipline to the new levies. He was quartered in my father's house, where he conceived a great affection for me. On his departure, with the consent of my father, I attended him through both the Castilles, partly as companion, partly as domestic. I was with him nearly a year, when he was suddenly summoned to return to his own country. He would fain have taken me with him, but to that my father would by no means consent. It is now five- and-twenty years since I last saw an English- v man; but you have seen how I recognised you even in the dark night. Myself. And what kind of life do you pursue, and by what means do you obtain Marbenel. I experience no difficulty. I live much in the same way as I believe my forefathers lived ; certainly as my father did, for his course has been mine. At his death I took i>*sr?ssion of the herencia, for I was his only eh d. It was not requisite that I should fc llo v a ny business, for my wealth was great ; yet, to avoid remark, I followed that of my lather, who was a longanizero. I have occa- sionally dealt in wool ; but lazily, lazily as I had no stimulus for exertion. I was, how- fiver, successful in many instances, strangely so ; much more than many others who toiled day and night, and whose whole soul was in the trade. Myself. Have you any children 1 ? Are you married 1 Abarbenel. I have no children though I am married. I have a wife and an amiga, or I should rather say two wives, for I am wedded to both. I however call one my amiga, for appearance sake, for I wish to live in quiet, and am unwilling to offend the prejudices of the surrounding people. Myself. You say you are wealthy. In what does your wealth consist 1 JLbarbend. In gold and silver, and stones of price; for I have inherited all the hoards of my forefathers. The greater part is buried under ground ; indeed, 1 have never examined the tenth part of it. I have coins of silver and gold older than the times of Ferdinand the Accursed and Jezebel ; I have also large sums employed in usury. \\ e keep our- selves close, however, and pretend to be poor, miserably so; but on certain occasions, at our festivals, when our gates are barred, and our savage dogs are let loose in the court, we eat our food off services such as the Queen of Spain cannot boast of, and wash our feet in ewers of silver, fashioned and wrought before the Americas were discovered, though our garments are at all times coarse, and our food for the most part of the plainest description. Myself. Are there more of you than your- self and your two wives 1 Marbenel. There are my two servants, who are likewise of us; the one is a youth, and is about to leave, being betrothed to one at some distance; the other is old : he is now upon the road, following me with a mule and car. Myself. And whither are you bound at present? MarbeneL To Toledo, where I ply my trade occasionally of longanizero. I love to wander about, though I seldom stray far from home. Since I left the Englishman my feet have never once stepped beyond the bounds of New Castille. I love to visit Toledo, and to think of the times which have long since departed ; I should establish myself there, were there not so many accursed ones, who look upon me with an evil eye. Myself. Are you known for what you are 1 ? Do the authorities molest you 1 MarbeneL People of course suspect me to be what I am ; but as I conform outwardly in most respects to their ways, they do not interfere with me. True it is that sometimes, when I enter the church to hear the mass, they glare at me over the left shoulder, as to say "What do you herel" And some- times they cross themselves as I pass by ; but as they go no further, I do not trouble myself on that account. With respect to the autho- rities, they are not bad friends of mine. Many of the higher class have borrowed mo- ney from me on usury, so that I have them to a certain extent in my power, and as for the low alguazils and corchetes, they would do any thing to oblige me in consideration of a few dollars, which I occasionally give them ; so that matters upon the whole go on remark- ably well. Of old, indeed, it was far other- wise; yet, I know not how it was, though other families suffered much, ours always en- joyed a tolerable share of tranquillity. The truth is, that our family has always known how to guide itself wonderfully. I may say there is much of the wisdom of the snake amongst us. We have always possessed friends ; and with respect to enemies, it is by no means safe to meddle with us ; for it is a rule of our house never to forgive an injury, and to spare neither trouble nor expense in THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 57 bringing ruin and destruction upon the heads of our evil doers. Myself. Do the priests interfere with yon 1 Jlbarbenel. They let me alone, especially in our own neighbourhood. Shortly after the death of my father, one hot-headed individual endeavoured to do me an evil turn, but I soon requited him, causing him to be imprisoned on a charge of blasphemy, and in prison he remained a long time, till he went mad and died. Myself. Have you a head in Spain, in whom is rested the chief authority? Marbend. Not exactly. There are, how- ever, certain holy families who enjoy much consideration ; my own is one of these the chiefest, I may say. My grandsire was a particularly holy man ; and I have heard my father say, that one night an archbishop came to his house secretly, merely to have the sa- tisfaction of kissing his head. Myself. How can that be ; what reverence could an archbishop entertain for one like yourself or your grandsire. Marbenel. More than you imagine. He was one of us, at least his father was, and he could never forget what he had learned with reverence in his infancy. He said he had tried to forget it, but he could not ; that the rwa^was continually upon him, and that even from his childhood he had borne its terrors with a troubled mind, till at last he could bear himself no longer; so he went to my grand- sire, with whom he remained one whole night; he then returned to his diocese, where he shortly afterwards died, in much renown for sanctity. Myse/f. What you say surprises me. Have you reason to suppose that many of you are to be found amongst the priesthood 1 Marbenel. Not to suppose, but to know it. There are many such as I amongst the priest- hood, and not amongst the inferior priesthood 8 either ; some of the most learned and lamed of them in Spain have been of us, and of our blood at least, and many of them at this day think as I do. There is one particular festi- val of the year at which four dignified eccle- siastics are sure to visit me; and then, when all is made close and secure, and the fitting ceremonies have been gone through, they sit down upon the floor and curse. Myself. Are you numerous in the large towns ] Marbenel. By no means ; our places of abode are seldom the large towns ; we prefer the villages, and rarely enter the large towns but on business. Indeed, we are not a nu- merous people, and there are few provinces of Spain which contain more than twenty families. None of us are poor, and those among us who serve, do so more from choice than necessity, for by serving each other we acquire different trades. Not unfrequently the time of service is that of courtship also, and the servants eventually marry the daugh- ters of the house. We continued in discourse the greater part of the night; the next morning I prepared to depart. My companion, however, advised me to remain where I was for that day. "And if you respect my counsel," said he, "you will not proceed farther in this manner. To- night the diligence will arrive from Estrema- dura, on its way to Madrid. Deposit yourself therein ; it is the safest and most speedy mode of travelling. As for your Caballeria, I will myself purchase her. My servant is here, and has informed me that she will be of ser- vice to us. Let us, therefore, pass the day together in communion, like brothers, and then proceed on our separate journeys." We did pass the day together; and when the dili- gence arrived I deposited myself within, and on the morning of the second day arrived *\. Madrid. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. CHAPTER XII. Lodging at Madrid My Hostess British Ambassador Mendizabal Baltasar Duties o. a Na- tional Young Blood The Execution Population of Madrid The Higher Orders The Lower Clases The Bull Fighter The Crabbed Gitaiio. IT was the commencement of February when I reached Madrid. After staying a few days at a posada, I removed to a lodging which I engaged at No. 3, in the Calle de la Zarza, a dark dirty street, which, however, was close to the Puerta del Sol, the most cen- tral point of Madrid, into which four or five of the principal streets debouche, and which is, at all times of the year, the great place of assemblage for the idlers of the capital, poor or rich. It was rather a singular house in which I had taken up my abode. I occupied the front part of the first floor ; my apartments consist- ed of an immense parlour, and a small cham- ber on one side in which I slept; the parlour, notwithstanding its size, contained very little ' furniture: a few chairs, a table, and a species of sofa, constituted the whole. It was very cold and airy, owing to the draughts which poured in from three large windows, and from sundry doors. The mistress of the house, at- tended by her two daughters, ushered me in. " Did you ever see a more magnificent apart- ment?" demanded the former; "is it not fit for a king's son? Last winter it was occu- pied by the great General Espartero." The hostess was an exceedingly fat wo- man, a native of Valladolid, in Old Castille. " Have you any other family," I demanded, "besides these daughters'?" "Two sons," he replied; "one of them an officer in the army, father of this urchin," pointing to a wicteu Du t clever looking boy of about twelve, who at that moment bounded into the room ; " tne >"ier is the most celebrated national in Madri 1 : he is a tailor by trade, and his name is Balt sar> f[ e nas m uch influence with the other Nationals, on account of the liberality of Ins or.j n j onsrison like Toro. I learned there to play on he guitar. An Andalusian cavalier taught me to touch the guitar and to sing a la Ghana. } oor fellow, he was my first novio. Juanito, ring me the guitar, that I may play this gen- leman a tune of Andalusia. The carcelera had a fine voice, and touched he favourite instrument of the Spaniards in a ruly masterly manner. I remained listening o her performance for nearly an hour, when I etired to my apartment and my repose. I elieve that she continued playing and sing- ng durinj the greater part of the night, for as occasionally awoke I could still hear her; nd, even in my slumbers, the strings were ringing in my cars. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 97 CHAPTER XXII. lluenas Children of Egypt Jockeyisfn The Baggage Pony The Fall Palencia Carlist Priests The Look Out Priestly Sincerity Leon Antonio Alarmed Heat and Dust. AFTER a sojourn of about ten days at Val- ladolid, we directed our course towards Leon, We arrived about noon at Duenas, a town at the distance of six short leagues from Val- ladolid. It is in every respect a singular place: it stands on a rising ground, and di- rectly above it towers a steep conical moun- tain of calcareous earth, crowned by a ruined castle. Around Duenas are seen a multitude of caves scooped in the high banks and se- cured with strong doors. These are cellars, in which is deposited the wine, of which abundance is grown in the neighbourhood, and which is chiefly sold to the Navarrese and the mountaineers of Santander, who arrive in cars drawn by oxen, and convey it away in large quantities. We put up at a mean posada in the suburb for the purpose of refreshing our horses. Several cavalry sol- diers were quartered there, who instantly came forth, and began, with the eyes of connois- seurs, to inspect my Andalusian entero. " A capita! horse that would be for our troop," said the corporal ; what a chest he has. By what right do you travel with that horse, Srieor, when so many are wanted for the Queen's service ? He belongs to therequiso." " I travel with him by right of purchase, and being an Englishman," I replied. " Oh, your worship is an Englishman," answered the corporal; " that, indeed, alters the mat- ter; the English in Spain are allowed to do what they please with their own, which is more than the Spaniards are. Cavalier, I have seen your countrymen in the Basque provinces ; Vaya, what riders ! what horses ! They do not fight badly either. But their chief skill is in riding : I have seen them dash over barrancos to get at the factious, who thought themselves quite secure, and then they would fall upon them on a sudden and kill them to a man. In truth, your worship, this is a fine horse, I must look at his teeth." I looked at the corporal his nose and eyes were in the horse's mouth : the rest of the party, who might amount to six or seven, were not less busily engaged. One was ex- amining his fore feet, another his hind ; one fellow was pulling at his tail with all his might, while another pinched the windpipe, for the purpose of discovering whether the animal was at all touched there. At last, perceiving that the corporal was about to re- move the saddle that he might examine the back of the animal, I exclaimed: " Stay, ye chabes of Egypt, ye forget that ye are htmdunares, and are no longer parugu- ing grastes in the chardy." The corporal at these words turned his face full upon me, and so did all the rest. 13 Yes, sure enough, there were the counte- nances of Egypt, and the fixed filmy stare of eye. We continued looking at each other for a minute at least, when the corporal, a vil- lanous looking fellow, at last said, in the richest gipsy whine imaginable, "the erray Icnows us, the poor Galore ! And he an Englishman! Bullati! I should not have thought that there was e'er a Busno would know us in these parts, where Gitanos are never seen. Yes, your worship is right; we are all here of the blood of the Calore : we are from Melegrana (Granada,) your worship; they took us from thence and sent us to the wars. Your worship is right, the sight of that horse made us believe we were at home again in the mercado of Granada; he is a country- man of ours, a real Andalou. Por dios, your worship, sell us that horse: we are poor Calore, but we can buy him." " You forgot that you are soldiers," said I. "How should you buy my horse ]" " We are soldiers, your worship," said the corporal, "but we are still Calore; we buy and sell bestis ; the captain of our troop is in league with us. We have been to the wars, but not to fight; we left that to the Busne. We have kept together, and, like true Calore, have stood back to back. We have made money in the wars, your worship. Nolenga usted cuidaa* We can buy your horse." Here he pulled out a purse, which con- tained at least ten ounces of gold. "If I were willing to sell," I replied, " what would you give me for that horse V "Then your worship wishes to sell your horse that alters the matter. We will give ten dollars for your worship's horse. He is good for nothing." "How is this 1 ?" said I. "You this mo- ment told me that he was a fine horse, an Andalusian, and a countryman of yours." " No, St'fior ! we did not say that he was an Andalou. We said he was an Kstremou, and the worst of his kind. He is eighteen years old, your worship, short winded and galled." "I do not wish to sell my horse," said I ; " quite the contrary ; I had rather buy than sell." " Your worship does not wish to sell his horse," said the gipsy. "Stay, your worship, we will give sixty dollars for your worship's horse." " I would not sell him for two hundred and. sixty. Meclis ! Meclis ! say no more. I know your gipsy tricks. I will have no dealings with you." " Did I not hear your worship say that you wished to buy a horse 1" said the gipsy. 98 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. " I do not want to buy a horse," said I ; | would run on until he reached the sea. I 14 if I need any thing, it is a pony to carry our 1 had, however, a strong arm, and I tugged at baggage; but it is getting late. Antonio, the halter until 1 compelled him to turn pay the reckoning.' " Stay, your worship, do not be in a hurry," said the gipsy ; " I have got the very pony which will suit you." Without waiting for my answer, he hur- ried into the stable, from whence he presently slightly his neck, which from its stiffness might almost have been of wood ; he, how- ever, did not abate his speed for a moment. On the left side of the road down which he was dashing was a deep trench, just where the road took a turn towards the right, and returned, leading an animal by a halter. It over this he sprang in a sideward direction ; was a pony of about thirteen hands high, of the halter broke with the effort, the pony shot a dark red colour; it was very much galled \ forward like an arrow, whilst 1 fell back into all over, the marks of ropes and thongs being the dust, visible on its hide. The figure, however, was " Senor!" good, and there was an extraordinary bright- ness in its eye. " There, your worship," said the gipsy ; " there is the best pony in all Spain." " What do you mean by showing me this wretched creature]" said I. " This wretched creature," said the gipsy, "is a better horse than your Andalou!" " Perhaps you would not exchange," said I, smiling. " Senor, what I say is, that he shall run with your Andalou and beat him!" " He looks feeble," said I ; " his work is well nigh done." " Feeble as he is, Senor, you could not ma- nage him ; no, nor any Englishman in Spain." I looked at the creature again, and was still more struck with its figure. I was in need of a pony to relieve occasionally the horse of Antonio in carrying the baggage which we had brought from Madrid, and though the condition of this was wretched, I thought that by kind treatment I might possibly soon bring him round. " May I mount this animal?" I demanded. " He is a baggage pony, Senor, and is ill to mount. He will suffer none but myself to mount him, who am his master. When he once commences running, nothing will stop him but the sea. He springs over hills and mountains, and leaves them behind in a moment. If you will mount him, Senor, suffer me to fetch a bridle, for you can never hold him in with the halter." " This is nonsense," said I. " You pre- tend that he is spirited in order to enhance the price. I tell you his work is done." I took the halter in my hand and mounted. was no sooner on his back than the creature, who had before stood stone still, without dis- playing the slightest inclination to move, and who in fact gave no farther indication of exist- tence than occasionally rolling his eyes and pricking up an ear, sprang forward like a race- horse, at a most desperate gallop. I had ex- pected that he might kick or fling himself down on the ground, in order to get rid of his burden, but for this escapade I was quite unprepared. I had no difficulty, however, in keeping on his back, having been accustomed from my childhood to ride without a saddle. To stop him, however, baffled all my endea- with said the the most serious gipsy, coming np countenance in the world, " I told you not to mount that animal unless well bridled and bitted. He is a bag- gage pony, and will suffer none to mount his back, with the exception of myself, who feed him." (Here he whistled, and the animal, who was scurrying over the field, and occa- sionally kicking up his heels, instantly re- turned with a gentle neigh.) "Now, your worship, see how gentle he is. He is a capital baggage pony, and will carry all you have over the hills of Galicia." " What do you ask for him ?" said I. "Senor, as your worship is an Englishman, and a good ginete, and, moreover, understands the ways of the Galore, and their tricks and their language also, I will sell him to you a bargain. I will take two hundred and sixty dollars for him, and no less." "That is a large sum," said I. " No, Senor, not at all, considering that he is a baggage pony, and belongs to the troop, and is not mine to sell." Two hours' ride brought us to Palencia, a fine old town, beautifully situated on the Car- rion, and famous for its trade in wool. We put up at the best posada which the place af- for'ded, and I forthwith proceeded to visit one of the principal merchants of the town, to whom I was recommended by my banker in Madrid. I was told, however, that he was taking his siesta. "Then I had better take my own," said I, and returned to the posada. In the evening I went again, when I saw him. thirty, He was a short and received bulky man, about at first with some degree of bluntness ; his manner, however, presently became more kind, at last he scarcely appeared to know how to show me sufficient civility. His brother had just ar- rived from Santander, and to him he intro- duced me. This last was a highly intelligent person, and had passed many years of his life in England. They both insisted upon show- ing me the town, and, indeed, led me all over it, and about the neighbourhood. I par- ticularly admired the cathedral, a light, ele- gant, but ancient Gothic edifice. Whilst we walked about the aisles, the evening sun pouring its mellow rays through the arched windows, illumined some beautiful paintings of Murillo, with which the sacred edifice ia adorned. From the church my friends con- tours, and I almost began to pay credit to the I ducted me to a fulling mill in the neighbour- words of the gipsy, who had said that he I hood, by a picturesque walk. There was no THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 99 lack either of trees or water, and I remarked, that the environs of Palencia were amongst the most pleasant places that 1 had ever seen. Tired at last with rambling 1 , we repaired lo a coffee-house, where they regaled me with chocolate and sweetmeats. Such was their hospitality; and of hospitality of this simple and agreeable kind there is much in Spain. On the next day we pursued our journey, a dreary one, for the most part, over bleak and barren plains, interspersed with silent and cheerless towns and villages, which stood at the distance of two or three leagues from each other. About midday we obtained a dim and distant view of an immense range of moun- tains, which are in fact those which bound Castile on the north. The day, however, be- came dim and obscure, and we speedly lost sight of them. A hollow wind now arose and blew over these desolate plains with violence, wafting clouds of dust into our faces ; the rays of the sun were few, and those red and angry. 1 was tired of my journey, and when about four we reached *****, a large vil- lage, halfway between Palencia and Leon, I declared my intention of stopping for the night. I scarcely ever saw a more desolate place than this same town or village of * * * * *. The houses were for the most part large, but the walls were of mud, like those of barns. We saw no person in the long winding street to direct us to the venta, or posada, till at last, at the farther end of the place, we descried two black figures standing at a door, of whom, on making enquiry, we learned that the door at which they stood was that of the house we were in quest of. There was something strange in the appearance of these two beings, who seemed the genii of the place. One was a small slim man, about fifty, with sharp ill- natured features. He was dressed in coarse black worsted stockings, black breeches, and an ample black coat with long trailing skirts. I should at once have taken him for an eccle- siastic, but for his hat, which had nothing clerical about it, being a pinched diminutive beaver. His companion was of low stature, and a much younger man. He was dressed in similar fashion, save that he wore a dark blue cloak. Both carried walking-sticks in their hands, and kept hovering about the door, now within and now without, occasionally looking up the road, as if they expected some one. " Trust me, mon maitre," said Antonio to me, in French, "those two fallows are Carl ist priests, and are awaiting the arrival of the Pretender. Les imbecilles .'" We conducted our horses to the stable, to which we were shown by the woman of the house. " Who are those men?" said I to her. "The eldest is head curate to our pueblo," said she ; " the other is brother to my husband. Pob:ecito! he was a friar in our convent be- fore it was shut up and the brethren driven forth." We returned to the door. " I suppose, gen- tlemen," said the curate, " that you are Cata- lans. Do you bring any news from that kingdom ?" " Why do you suppose we are Catalans'?" I demanded. " Because I heard you this moment con- versing in that language." " I bring no news from Catalonia," said I. "I believe, however, that the greater part of that principality is in the hands of the Carlists." "Ahem, brother Pedro! This gentleman says that the greater part of Catalonia is in the hands of the royalists. Pray sir, where may Don Carlos be at present with his army ?" " He may be coming down the road this moment," said I, " for what I know ;" and, stepping out, I looked up the way. The two figures were at my side in a mo- ment; Antonio followed, and we all four looked intently up the road. " Do you see any thing?" said I at last to Antonio. " Non, mon maitre." " Do you see anything, sir ?" said I to the curate. " I see nothing," said the curate, stretching out his neck. "I see nothing," said Pedro, the ex-friar; "I see nothing but the dust, which is becom- ing every moment more blinding." "I shall go in, then," said I. " Indeed, it is scarcely prudent to be standing here looking out for the Pretender : should the nationals of the town hear of it, they might perhaps shoot us." "Ahem," said the curate, following me; " there are no nationals in this place : I would fain see what inhabitant would dare become a national. When the vecinos of this place were ordered to take up arms as nationals, they refused to a man, and on that account we had to pay a mulct; therefore, friend, you may speak out if you have anything to communi- cate; we are all of your opinion here." "I am of no opinion at all," said I, "save that I want my supper. I am neither for Rey nor Roque. You say that I am a Catalan, and you know that Catalans think only of their own affairs." In the evening I strolled by myself about the village, which I found still more forlorn and melancholy than it at first appeared ; per- haps, however, it had been a place of conse- quence in its time. In one corner of it I found the ruins of a large clumsy castle, chiefly built of flint stones: into these ruins I at- tempted to penetrate, but the entrance was se- cured by a gate. From the castle I found my way to the convent, a sad desolate place, formerly the residence of mendicant brothers of the order of St. Francis. I was about to return to the inn, when I heard a loud buzz of voices, and, following the sound, presently reached a kind of meadow, where, upon a small knoll, sat a priest in full canonicals, reading in a loud voice a newspaper, while around him, either erector seated on the grass, were assembled about fifty vecinos, for the most part dressed in long cloaks, amongst \ whom I discovered my two friends the curate 100 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. and friar. A fine knot of Carlist quidnuncs, said I to myself, and turned away to another part of the meadow, where the cattle of the village were grazing. The curate, on observ- ing me, detached himself instantly from the group and followed. "I am told you want a pony," said he; " there now is mine feeding amongst those horses, the best in all the king- dom of Leon." He then began with all the volubility of a chalan to descant on the points of the animal. Presently the friar joined us, who, observing his opportunity, pulled me by the sleeve and whispered, " Have nothing to do with the curate, master, he is the greatest thief in the neighbourhood : if you want a pony, my brother has a much better, which he will dispose of cheaper." "I shall wait till I arrive at Leon," I exclaimed, and walked away, musing on priestly friendship and sin- cerity. From ***** to Leon, a distance of eight leagues, the country rapidly improved : we passed over several small streams, and oc- casionally found ourselves amongst meadows in which grass was growing in the richest luxuriance. The sun shone out brightly, and I hailed his re-appearance with joy, though the heat of his beams was oppressive. On arriving within two leagues of Leon, we passed numerous cars and wagons, and bands of peo- ple with horses and mules, all hastening to the celebrated fair which is held in the city on St. John's or Midsummer day, and which took place within three days after our arrival. This fair, though principally intended for the sale of horses, is frequented by merchants from many parts of Spain, who attend with goods of various kinds, and amongst them I remarked many of the Catalans whom I had previously seen at Medina and Valladolid. There is nothing remarkable in Leon, which is an old gloomy town, with the exception of its cathedral, in many respects a counterpart of the church of Palencia, exhibiting the same light and elegant architecture, but, unlike its beautiful sister, unadorned with splendid paint- ings. The situation of Leon is highly plea- sant, in the midst of a blooming country abounding with trees, and watered by many streams, which have their source in the mighty mountains in the neighbourhood. It is, however, by no means a healthy place, especially in summer, when the heats raise noxious exhalations from the waters, generat- ing many kinds of disorders, especially fevers. I had scarcely been at Leon three days when I was seized with a fever, against which 1 thought the strength even of my constitution would have yielded, for it wore me almost to a skeleton, and when it de- parted, at the end of about a week, left me in such a deplorable state of weakness that I ( was scarcely able to make the slightest exertion. I had, however, previously per- suaded a bookseller to undertake the charge of vending the Testaments, and had pub- lished my advertisements as usual, though without very sanguine hope of success, as Leon is a place where the inhabitants, with very few exceptions, are furious Carlists, and ignorant and blinded followers of the old papal church. It is, moreover, a bishop's see, which was once enjoyed by the prime counsellor of Don Carlos, whose fierce and bigoted spirit still seems to pervade the place. Scarcely had the advertisements appeared, when the clergy were in motion. They went from house to house, banning and cursing, and denouncing misery to whomso- ever should either purchase or read "the ac- cursed books," which had been sent into the country by heretics for the purpose of per- verting the innocent minds of the population. They did more; they commenced a process against the bookseller in the ecclesiastical court. Fortunately this court is not at pre- sent in the possession of much authority ; and the bookseller, a bold and determined man, set them at defiance, and went so far as to affix an advertisement to the gate of the very cathedral. Notwithstanding the cry raised against the book, several copies were sold at Leon : two were purchased by ex-friars, and the same number by parochial priests from neighbouring villages. I believe the whole number disposed of during my stay amounted to fifteen ; so that my visit to this dark corner was not altogether in vain, as the seed of the Gospel has been sown, though sparingly. But the palpable darkness which envelopes Leon is truly lamentable, and the ignorance of the people is s.o great, that printed charms and incantations against Satan and his host, and against every kind of misfortune, are publicly sold in the shops, and are in great demand. Such are the results of Popery, a delusion which, more than any other, has tended to debase and brutalize the human mind. I had scarcely risen from the bed where the fever had cast me, when I found that Antonio had become alarmed. He informed me that he had seen several soldiers in the uniform of Don Carlos lurking at the door of the posada, and that they had been mak- ing inquiries concerning me. It was indeed a singular fact connected with Leon, that upwards of fifty of these fel- lows, who had on various accounts left the ranks of the Pretender, were walking about the streets dressed in his livery, and with all the confidence which the certainty of pro- tection from the local authorities could afford them should any one be disposed to interrupt them. I learned moreover from Antonio, that the person in whose house we were living was a notorious " alcahuete," or spy to the rob- bers in the neighbourhood, and that unless we took our departure speedily and unex- pectedly, we should to a certainty be plun- dered on the road. I did not pay much at- tention to these hints, but my desire to quit Leon was great, as I was convinced that as long as I continued there I should be unable to regain my health and vigour. Accordingly, at three in the morning, we departed for Galicia. We had scarcely pro- THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 101 weeded half a league when we were overtaken by a thunder-storm of tremendous violence. We were at that time in the midst of a wood which extends to some distance in the di- rection in which we were going. The trees were bowed almost to the ground by the wind or torn up by the roots, whilst the earth was ploughed up by the lightning, which burst all around and nearly blinded us. The spirited Andalusian on which I rode became furious, and bounded into the air as if possessed. Owing to my state of weakness, I had the greatest difficulty in maintaining my seat, and avoiding a fall which might have been fatal. A tremen- dous discharge of rain followed the storm, which swelled the brooks and streams and flooded the surrounding country, causing much damage amongst the corn. After riding about five leagues, we began to enter the mountainous district which surrounds Astorga: the heat now became almost suffo- cating ; swarms of flies began to make their appearance, and settling down upon the horses, stung them almost to madness, whilst the road was very flinty and trying. It was with great difficulty that we reached Astorga, covered with mud and dust, our tongues cleaving to our palates with thirst. CHAPTER XXIII. Astorga The Inn The Maragatos Habits of the Maragatos The Statue. WE went to a posada in the suburbs, the only one, indeed, which the place afforded. The court-yard was full of arrieros and car- riers, brawling loudly; the master of the house was fighting with two of his cus- tomers, and universal confusion reigned around. As I dismounted I received the contents of a wine-glass in my face, of which greeting, as it was probably intended for another, I took no notice. Antonio, how- ever, was not so patient, for on being struck with a cudgel, he instantly returned the sa- lute with his whip, scarifying the counte- nance of a carman. In my endeavours to separate these two antagonists, my horse broke loose, and rushing amongst the pro- miscuous crowd, overturned several indivi- duals and committed no little damage. It was a long time before peace was restored : at last we were shown to a tolerably decent chamber. We had, however, no sooner taken possession of it, than the waggon from Madrid arrived on its way to Coruna, filled with dusty travellers, consisting of women, children, invalid officers, and the like. We were now forthwith dislodged, and our bag- gage flun^ into the yard. On our complain- ing of this treatment, we were told that we were two vagabonds whom nobody knew ; who had come without an arriero, and had already set the whole house in confusion. As a great favour, however, we were at length permitted to take up our abode in a ruinous building down the yard, adjoining the stable, and filled with rats and vermin. Here there was an old bed with a tester, and with this wretched accommodation we were glad to content ourselves, for I could proceed no farther, and was burnt with fevw. The heat of the place was intolerable, and I sat on the staircase with my head between my hands, gasping for breath: soon appeared i2 Antonio with vinegar and water, which I drank and felt relieved. We continued in this suburb three days, during the greatest part of which time I was stretched on the tester bed. I once or twice contrived to make my way into the town, but found no bookseller, nor any person will- ing to undertake the charge of disposing of my Testaments. The people were brutal, stupid, and uncivil, and I returned to my tester bed fatigued and dispirited. Here I lay listening from time to time to the sweet chimes which rang from the clock of the old cathedral. The master of the house never came near me, nor, indeed, once enquired about me. Beneath the care of Antonio, however, I speedily waxed stronger. "Moil maitre," said he to me one evening, " I see you are better ; let us quit this bad town and worse posada to-morrow morning. Jlllons, mon maitre! 11 est temps de nous mettre en chemin pour Lugo et Galice." Before proceeding, however, to narrate what befel us in this journey to Lugo and Galicia, it will, perhaps, not be amiss to say a few words concerning Astorga and its vi- cinity. It is a walled town, containing about five or six, thousand inhabitants, with a ca- thedral and college, which last is, however, at present deserted. It is situated on the confines, and may be called the capital of a tract of land called the country of the Mara- gatos, which occupies about three square leagues, and has for its north-western boun- dary a mountain called Telleno, the loftiest of a chain of hills which have their origin near the mouth of the river Minho, and are connected with the immense range which constitutes the frontier of the Asturias and Guipuscoa. The land is ungrateful and barren, and niggardly repays the toil of the cultivator, 10 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. being for the most part rocky, with a slight sprinkling of red brick earth. The Maragatos are perhaps the most sin- gular caste to be found amongst the chequer- ed population of Spain. They have their own peculiar customs and dress, and never intermarry with the Spaniards. Their name is a clue to their origin, as it signifies " Moorish Goths," and at the present day their garb differs but little from that of the Moors of Barbary, as it consists of a long light jacket, secured at the waist by a broad girdle, loose short trousers which terminate at the knee, and boots and gaiters. Their heads are shaven, a slight fringe of hair being only left at the lower part. If they wore the turban or barret, they could scarcely be dis- tinguished from the Moors in dress, but in lieu thereof they wear the sombrero, or broad slouching hat of Spain. There can be little doubt that they are a remnant of those Goths who sided with the Moors on their invasion of Spain, and who adopted their religion, customs, and manner of dress, which, with the exception of the first, are still to a consi- derable degree retained by them. It is, however, evident that their blood has at no time mingled with that of the wild children of the desert, for scarcely amongst the hills of Norway would you find figures and faces more essentially Gothic than those of the Maragatos. They are strong athletic men, but loutish and heavy, and their features, though for the most part well formed, are vacant and devoid of expression. They are slow and plain of speech, and those eloquent and imaginative sallies so common in the conversation of other Spaniards, seldom or never escape them ; they have, moreover, a coarse thick pronunciation, and when you hear them speak, you almost imagine that it is some German or English peasant attempt- ing to express himself in the language of the Peninsula. They are constitutionally phleg- matic, and it is very difficult to arouse their anger; but they are dangerous and desperate when once incensed ; and a person who knew them well, told me that he would ra- ther face ten Valencians, people infamous for their ferocity and blood-thirstiness, than confront one angry Maragato, sluggish and stupid though he be on other occasions. The men scarcely ever occupy themselves in husbandry, which they abandon to the women, who plough the flinty fields and gather in the scanty harvests. Their hus- bands and sons are far differently employed : for they are a nation of arrieros or carriers, and almost esteem it a disgrace to follow any other profession. On every road of Spain, particularly those north of the mountains which divide the two Castiles, may be seen gangs of fives and sixes of these people, lol- ling or sleeping beneath the broiling sun, on gigantic and heavily laden mutes and mules. In a word, almost the entire commerce of nearly one half of Spain passes through the hands of the Maragatos, whose fidelity to their trust is such, that no one accustomed to employ them would hesitate to confide to them the transport of a ton of treasure from the sea of Biscay to Madrid : knowing well that it would not be their fault were it not delivered safe and undiminished, even of a grain, and that bold must be the thieves who would seek to wrest it from the far feared Maragatos, who would cling to it whilst they could stand, and would cover it with their bodies when they fell in the act of loading or discharging their long carbines. But they are far from being disinterested, and if they are the most trustworthy of all the arrieros of Spain, they in general demand for the transport of articles, a sum at least double to what others of the trade would es- teem a reasonable recompense : by this means they accumulate large sums of money, notwithstanding that they indulge themselves in far superior fare to that which contents in general the parsimonious Spaniard ; ano- ther argument in favour of their pure Gothic descent: for the Maragatos, like true men of the north, delight in swilling liquors and battening upon gross and luscious meats, which help to swell out their tall and goodly figures. Many of them have died possessed of considerable riches, part of which they have not unfrequently bequeathed totheerec- tion or embellishment of religious houses. On the east end of the Cathedral of As- torga, which towers over the lofty and pre- cipitous wall, a colossal figure of lead may be seen on the roof. It is the statue of a Maragato carrier who endowed the cathedral with a large sum. He is in his national dress, but his head is averted from the land of his fathers, and whilst he waves in his hand a species of flag, he seems to be sum- moning his race from their unfruitful region to other climes, where a richer field is open to their industry and enterprise. I spoke to several of these men respecting the all- important subject of religion; but " I found their hearts gross, and their ears dull of hearing, and their eyes closed." There was one in particular to whom I showed the New Testament, and whom 1 addressed for a considerable time. He listened or seemed to listen patiently, taking occasionally copi- ous draughts from an immense jug of whitish wine which stood between his knees. After I had concluded he said, "To-morrow I set out for Lugo, whither, I am told, yourself are going. If you wish to send your chest, I have no objection to take it at so much (naming an extravagant price.) As for what you have told me, I understand little of it, and believe not a word of it; but in respect to the books which you have shown me, I will take three or four. I shall not read them, it is true, but I have no doubt that I can sell them at a higher price than you demand." So much for the Maragatos. THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. 103 CHAPTER XXIV. Departure from Astorga The Venta The By-Path Narrow Escape The Cup of Water Sun and Shade Bembibre Convent of the Rocks Sunset Cacabelos Midnight Adventure Villafranca. IT was four o'clock of a beautiful morning when we sallied from Astorga, or rather from its suburbs, in which we had been lodged: we directed our course to the north, in the direction of Galicia. Leaving the mountain Telleno on our left, we passed along the eastern skirts of the land of the Maragatos, over broken uneven ground, enlivened here and there by small ereen valleys and runnels of water. Several of the Maragatan women, mounted on donkeys, passed us on their way to Astorga, whither they were carrying ve- getables. We saw others in the fields hand- ling their rude ploughs, drawn by lean oxen. We likewise passed through a small village, in which we, however, saw no living soul. Near this village we entered the high road which leads direct from Madrid to Coruna, and at last, having travelled near four leagues, we came to a species of pass, formed on our left by a huge lumpish hill, (one of those which descend from the great moun- tain Telleno,) and on our right by one of much less altitude. In the middle of this pass, which was of considerable breadth, a noble view opened itself to us. Before us, at the distance of about a league and a half, rose the mighty frontier chain, of which I have spoken before; its blue sides and broken and picturesque peaks still wearing a thin veil of the morning mist, which the fierce rays of the sun were fast dispelling. It seemed an enormous barrier, threatening to oppose our farther progress, and it reminded me of the fables respecting the children of Magog, who are said to reside in remotest Tartary, behind a gigantic wall of rocks, which can only be passed by a gate of steel a thousand cubits in height. We shortly after arrived at Manzanal, a village consisting of wretched huts, and ex- hibiting every sign of poverty and misery. It was now time to refresh ourselves and horses, and we accordingly put up at a venta, the last habitation in the village, where, though we found barley for the animals, we had much difficulty in procuring any thing for ourselves. I was at length fortunate enough to obtain a large jug of milk, for there was plenty of cows in the neighbour- hood, feeding in a picturesque valley which we had passed by, where was abundance of grass and trees, and a rivulet broken by tiny cascades. The jug might contain about half a gallon, but I emptied it in a few minutes, for the thirst of fever was still burning within me, though I was destitute of appe- tite. The venta had something the appear- ance of a German baiting-house. It con- sisted of an immense stable, from which was partitioned a kind of kitchen, and a place where the family slept. The master, a ro- bust youns man, lolled on a large solid stone bench, which stood within the door. He was very inquisitive respecting news, but I could afford him none; whereupon he be- came communicative, and gave me the his- tory of his life, the sum of which was, that he had been a courier in the Basque pro- vinces, but about a year since had been despatched to this village, where he kept the post-house. He was an enthusiastic liberal, and spoke in bitter terms of the surrounding population, who, he said, were all Carlists and friends of the friars. I paid little atten- tion to his discourse, for I was looking at a Maragato lad of about fourteen, who served in the house as a kind of hostler. I asked the master if we were still in the land of the Maragatos; but he told me that we had left it behind nearly a league, and that the lad was an orphan and was serving until he could rake up a sufficient capital to become an arriero. I addressed several questions to the boy, but the urchin looked sullenly in my face, and either answered by monosyllables or was doggedly silent. I asked him if he could read. "Yes," said he, " as much as that brute of yours who is tearing down the manger." Quitting Manzanal, we continued our course. We soon arrived at the verge of a deep valley amongst mountains, not those of the chain which we had seen before us, and which, we now left to the right, hut those of the Telleno range, just before they unite with that chain. Round the sides of this valley, which exhi- bited something of the appearance of a horse- shoe, wound the road in a circuitous mariner; just before us, however, and diverging from the road, lay a footpath which seemed, by a gradual descent, to lead across the valley and to rejoin the road on the other side, at the dis- tance of about a furlong; and into this wa struck in order to avoid the circuit. We had not gone far before we met two Ga- licians, on their way to cut the harvests of Castile. One of them shouted, "Cavalier, turn hack : in a moment you will be amongst precipices, where your horses will break their necks, for we ourselves could scarcely climb them on foot." The other cried, " Cavalier, proceed, but be careful, and your horses, if sure-footed, will run no great danger; my comrade is a fool." A violent dispute in- stantly ensued between the two mountaineers, each supporting his opinion with loud oaths and curses ; but without stopping to see the 104 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN. result, I passed on, but the path was now filled with stones and huge slaty rocks, on which my horse was continually slipping. I likewise heard the sound of water in a deep gorge, which I had hitherto not perceived, and I soon saw that it would be worse than mad- ness to proceed. 1 turned my horse, and was hastening to regain the path which I had left, when Antonio, my faithful Greek, pointed out to me a meadow by which, he said, we might regain the high road much lower down than if we returned on our steps. The mea- dow was brilliant with short green grass, and in the middle there was a small rivulet of water. I spurred my horse on, expecting to be in the high road in a moment; the horse, however, snorted and stared wildly, and was evidently unwilling to cross the seemingly inviting spot. I thought that the scent of a wolf or some other wild animal might have disturbed him, but was soon undeceived by his sinking up to the knees in a bog. The ani- mal uttered a shrill sharp neigh, and exhi- bited every sign of the greatest terror, making at the same time great efforts to extricate him- self, and plunging forward, but every moment sinking deeper. At last he arrived where a small vein of rock showed itself: on this he placed his fore feet, and with one tremendous exertion freed himself from the deceitful soil, springing over the rivulet, and alighting on comparatively firm ground, where he stood panting, his heaving sides covered with a foamy sweat. Antonio, who had observed the whole scene, afraid to venture forward, re- turned by the path by which we came, and shortly afterwards rejoined me. This ad- venture brought to my recollection the mea- dow with its footpath which tempted Chris- tian from the straight road to heaven, and finally conducted him to the dominions of the giant Despair. We now be